Post-It
by CaliTacui
Summary: A certain 17 year old Nick Miller will not leave Jessica Day alone. How will she ever focus while post-it notes are being thrown at her left and right? Read to find out ;). Nick x Jess!
1. Chapter 1

**okay New Girl lovers. This story may be a challenge but imma try my best to make it really good :'). This takes place in their senior year of high school. Interesting AU, huh? Now we can really see if Jess was impressed by Nick's whole -hippy vibe- (not). Sit back and enjoy!**

* * *

"Remind me why seniors couldn't have at least twenties day of school this year?" The brunette complained once she heard a small 'hello' on the other side. "It's going to be absolute hell without you here, and I know I'm bound to get Senioritis within the next couple of months, and I'll start failing everything, and then live on the streets after High School."

There was a brief pause before the person on the line replied. " _Are you done?_ "

She gaped and furrowed her brows defensively. "Not even close. I'm so mad at you. Or your parents. Or you. I hate that you're at another school this year."

" _Please._ " The voice replied with annoyance in their tone. " _It's not even high school. It's this Modeling-schooling-internship thing I signed up for over the summer. You know this!_ " Another brief pause. " _Oh wait, I forgot. You can barely remember what you had for breakfast yesterday morning._ "

"Not true."

This time, the pause fell longer. The brunette stared in confusion as she waited for a response. She wouldn't even be surprised if her best friend had hung up on her already.

" _... Well? What did you have?_ "

Now was it the Benedict eggs.. Or the toasted English muffin with butter on-

-"That's not the point!" She yelled into the phone as she huffed. "Cece, High School has been the death of me for four years. Now, imagine what college has in store for me. You'll be the one picking out the designs on my gravestone." Jessica complained in an over-exaggerated groan, resting one hand on her face.

She felt Cece shake her head in disappointment. " _Okay, seriously morbid. Jessica damn Day, get it together. You're going to get out of whatever chair you're sitting in,_ -" Jessica frowned, glancing down at her spot. "- _you're gonna march into that first class which starts in two minutes, and you're gonna suck it up_."

Jess sighed and stood up from the chair beneath her and smoothed out her skirt. "You know what, Cece? You're right. Maybe this is the year I really focus. Maybe I'll have a consistent honor roll streak this year." She said out loud, more to herself. It was Cece's turn to sigh this time.

" _Go into that classroom and_ get _your education_." The voice snapped over the phone, Jessica almost flinching at the harshness of the tone. She casually strolled in, picking a seat at one of the desks and staring straight ahead. Wonderful. This class was gonna be such a blast.

* * *

Looking to her right, she saw a bunch of those typical mainstream posters on the wall. Honestly, why does every teacher think they'd fit in by putting posters that say " **KEEP CALM AND ASK THE TEACHER** _._ " It's understandable of their attempts of staying relevant, or in their words, "keeping it real", but come on. 2012 memes are dead.

Jess glanced away in disgust as she looked to her left at some seniors walking in. The same, greasy faces she had grown to tolerate over the amount of years. All she could think of was _ew._ Everyone began taking their seats as the brunette quietly took out her pencil case, revealing all the nice and sharpened pencils she kept in tact.

"Those probably won't last too long." A girl chuckled, who happened to be sitting a seat next to her. "You'll lose those by the end of the year." Jess decided to laugh along with her as she took one out.

"Actually, I have kept these since my sophomore year. I'm very strict about my pencils!" She tried to humor back, but instead of getting a laugh, she received an odd stare. The brunette sunk in her seat. Well, this year was gonna suck.

A couple of minutes into class, there was a loud knock on the teacher's door. As they went over to get it, the door flung open and slightly hit the wall. The boy who came into a clear view had a smile on his face as he took a step inside.

Jessica wobbled her pencil back and forth as she studied the new person she'd never seen before. Intrigue filled her mind as she noticed his brown eyes and thick eyebrows. Maybe the year wasn't going to suck- _as_ much.

"Hey, I'm Nick Miller, it's nice to meet-" The teacher cut him off with a harsh _shush_ noise and an obnoxious wave of hand movements.

"I will not tolerate talking in my class." Nick Miller raised a brow quizzically as he tried to talk again, but was shushed before a word was uttered. "The less we know, the better."

Nick shook his head as he made his way over to the seats. "What a nice welcoming committee." He whispered. Suddenly, a group of _SHUSHES_ swarmed around the room, making his eyes widen in a mixture of confusion and frustration. Eyeing a seat right behind a pretty brunette, a smile almost lifted his lips as he made his way over, resting his bag down.

When the boy took a seat behind Jess, the girl ever so slightly made a subtle movement to see, but ended up being incredibly obvious. The two ended up meeting eye contact and Jess mentally cursed. Instead of saying hello like any other normal person, she awkwardly moved her hand side to side. It was believed to be a wave of some kind.

Arching a brow up again, his confusion growing, he mirrored her movements. "Shalom." Nick made his fingers form a peace sign as he pressed them against his lips, kissing them and lifting his hand up in the air. It was Jess's turn to be confused this time, because all she could do was stare at him and wonder what the hell _shalom_ meant. At her loss of words and lack of ideas for a response, she muttered an _uh-huh,_ and turned back around in her seat.

 _Seriously Jess? Uh-huh? What a brilliant first impression._ She mentally complained, slumping in her chair. Minutes began to pass as the class finally began to learn about the wonders of mathematics. Jessica tried her hardest to focus on the board rather than thinking about the boy behind her. The boy who wouldn't making humming noises. Clicking his pen. _Focus, Jess. Focus._

Although these distractions were driving her crazy, Jess didn't want any beef this year-especially with a new person who didn't even know her _name_. Distracting her out of her thoughts, a note was thrown onto her desk. She almost flinched at the reaction, but rolled her eyes as she unwrapped the post-it note.

 ** _Shalom_** **is just the Jewish way of saying hello and goodbye.**

The brunette crinkled her brows but nodded understandably as she crinkled up the note and tossed it in her opened backpack. A few minutes later, another note was tossed onto the desk. God dammit. He wasn't going to stop anytime soon.

 **You aren't going to introduce yourself? I was going to before, but you know how that worked out. I'm Nick.**

Her lips fought a small smirk as she read the words on the note. His handwriting was pretty good for a boy. After all, Jess felt that most guy's handwriting was in no way legible. She set it aside and tucked her brown hair behind her ears, really trying to understand this math, dammit.

It didn't take long before another came flying through.

 **I mean, I know I'm going classy with the post-it notes. But come on, it's not possible to have crappy service. This is practically air mail.**

Jess sighed and reached down into her backpack to find a bunch of new post-it notes that she thought were going to be used productively. Well, screw that whole idea.

 _I'm Jessica Day, but I go by Jess. Are you trying to fail this class? It's only first period._

She gently folded the note in half and tossed it behind her, hoping it would fall onto the desk and not on the floor. That would just be plain embarrassing.

 **I didn't really understand math for the first eleven years of my life, so why try for the last? It's nice to meet you, Jessica.**

 _Don't you want to get into your dream college? It's imperative to get a beneficial education, Miller._

 **So you did hear that occurrence from before! Glad to know I had your attention :)**

 _You didn't answer my question._

It was already halfway through the class, and the only thing Jessica truly accomplished was writing her name. Nick Miller was seriously gonna be the death of her. Or worse, her future. He will _not_ stand in the way of-

 **I'm not too worried. It's not like I don't try at all, I just wait until halfway through the quarter to get it all together. How do you think I handled junior year?**

 _I wouldn't know. I wasn't there. Now pay attention!_

 **No.**

 _Yes._

 **No.**

 _Just because you underlined no doesn't mean you made a difference. Now stop throwing notes at me!_

 **No**

 _I'm ignoring you. Now go focus._

Rrrrriiiiinggggg

The bell rang for first period to end and for second period to begin within a few minutes. Jessica turned her head toward Nick and glared while he smiled in amusement. He was so annoying. This boy actually had satisfaction from bothering her. He'll see what's coming to him. As Jess watched him walk out of the class, she shook her head and picked up her backpack.

Game on, Miller.

* * *

 **This may be a pretty short chapter, but it's only because I had an insanely long writing hiatus since I finally finished my book of oneshots for Lucaya [available on Wattpad if any of yall are interested, my account is CaliTacui :)]. But seriously I need your feedbacks and critiques. I know New Girl recently just ended, but I thought starting a cute AU would bring back some giddy feelings for the fandom.**

 **Hope you enjoyed! Favorite/Review below my lovelies.**

 **-Cali**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the feedback :) I'm glad you all are beginning to like this story! I'll try my best to update often and make sure you're** ** _not_** **disappointed. A couple of times a week perhaps? I have work 3 days every week, college orientation for 4 days and California for two weeks coming up, so those may be the obstacles in my way. I'll try to have some chapters stored away though ;). Here we go!**

* * *

chapter two

" _Jess, stop exaggerating. It probably wasn't that horrible. Remember when we talked about over-dramatizing?"_ Cece replied over the phone. Jess sighed and bowed her head. She could practically feel her friend rolling her eyes. How couldn't she complain? First period was already annoying enough with that boy throwing post it notes from behind her. The rest of the day after that was one unfortunate blur. A blur consisting of people interrupting the teachers, 'oohing' every time someone has to see another teacher, or _note tossing from that stupid boy._ Did she mention that already?

Jessica rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes. "Cece, there's 179 more days left of this. I could barely handle the first day, it was agonizing."

Cece furrowed her brows at her best friend's complaints. This was such a first world problem and the least of her future worries. " _Hey Jessica, remember when you said you wanted to be a teacher?"_

"Yeah?"

 _"Do you still want to be a teacher?"_

"Of course."

 _"Do you even know what you're complaining about? You're going to be spending more than 180 days in a school someday. So_ stop _it."_

Before Jess could truly retaliate, she closed her mouth and nodded her head understandably. "Now I know why I need you around."

She heard a chuckle over the line. _"What would you do without me?"_

"Live."

And then the call dropped. Jess chuckled and placed her cellphone in her jeans pocket as she headed off to school again.

Opening the doors to a high school felt like opening doors to a zoo. The minute one walked in, they'd hear the noises of screeching birds and monkeys. In human translation, that meant the popular girls chatting about and the jocks, well, being jocks. Jessica smoothed out her sundress as she walked into school, already feeling oils gather onto her face. _I swear, the school's air runs on teen angst and sweat molecules, t_ he brunette thought to herself, walking over to her locker.

Twisting the lock to the correct numbers, she opened it to grab some books and place into her backpack. After getting what she needed, Jess smiled and adjusted her glasses. Maybe it was gonna be a decent day after all. She closed the locker that was still swung open to a certain brown eyed hippy looking boy. Jessica arched a brow as she crossed her arms at the sight in front of her. Since she didn't get the time to really study his appearance yesterday, today's look seemed a little more bizarre.

His brown hair fell below his ears and he had a five o'clock shadow. Jessica did a subtle glance down and noticed he was wearing dark khakis and some sort of tie-dye shirt. Although he could use some assessing on his wardrobe choices, he had that natural glow-a certain attractiveness about his face. The brunette couldn't quite put her finger on it. Instead of coming out and saying something nice-because that would be too predictable-she decided to have a little fun.

"Are you apart of some boy band?" Jessica wondered out loud. "From the 60's?" She tilted her head with sarcastic curiosity.

"Are you dressing like the teachers now?" Nick retaliated, his smile growing. She glared at him as she gripped her books harder against her chest.

"This is an _Erdem_ dress, thank you very much. A teacher probably wouldn't wear this to school."

"Neither would a student."

Jess squinted her eyes at the idiotic boy, stepping and turning away to go to her first period.

Nick smiled as she sauntered into their class. " _Post_ ya later!"

She was gonna lose it. He was the _first_ on her hit list.

* * *

And thus, the flying notes begun again.

 **Hey May _day_! **

_Mayday?_

 **You know, Mayday? The distress signals that were used by ships and aircraft?**

 _Wow, a pun of my last name. You're not funny. No one is laughing._

 **That's because you're the only person reading this.**

 _Pay attention to the teacher! She's trying to educate your hollow mind._

 **Something tells me you care about teachers.**

Jess frowned at Nick's last message. How can he just figure that? That's incredibly random. Was it because of her reaction before when he made the comment about the dress? With curiosity, she continued to reply.

 _What makes you say that?_

 **You give me that whole teacher vibe. It could be the way you dress.**

Her cheeks burned at this. The way she _dressed?_ That's crazy. Just because she wore skirts and dresses? That does not equal teacher material. He threw another post it onto the table.

 **Don't get me wrong, you don't look bad in a sundress. ;)**

Nick heard her huff in her desk, and he knew he'd succeeded in affecting her.

 _Can it, Miller._

 **And the way you talk & write with such classy remarks and vocabulary. **

_It's called being educated. I don't think you're familiar with that._

 **Ouch. I have you know that I have an immense understanding of exquisite vocabulary.**

 _Yeah? You have a soft spot for writing, Miller?_

 **You should read some of my stuff. Maybe you'll become my number one fan. x**

 _In your dreams._

After a few minutes, he didn't reply to her note. Not that she really had an issue with that, anyway. After all, what was the point of being in class if she wasn't going to pay attention?

Jess heard a ruffling of papers from behind her and quizzically looked from the corner of her eye. _No._ She turned back toward the board. _Focus, Day. He's trying to distract you._

Instead of a post-it appearing on her desk, she felt something slide under feet. Glancing down, she saw several pages all attached together. In bold letters, she could see the title **"The Pepperwood Chronicles Draft #1"** Looking up at the teacher who was distracted teaching, Jessica reached down and placed it on her lap. Flipping the page, she saw the list of characters: **Julius Pepperwood, ? Knight, Schmith, Gator, Gay Dog, Lady Diamante, and Bayou Sue.**

Another note was tossed on her desk, the girl reaching over and unfolding it.

 **It's a short read since I just started it. Also, I don't want to see any pen marks on this. I don't need you critiquing my _masterpiece_. **

For some reason, her eyes couldn't leave the question mark that was supposed to be a character name.

 _You can't think of a character name I see?_

 **Nope. But I think I may know it now. I'll have to see if it fits first.**

 _Huh._

The bell rang once again as everyone began closing their books and standing up, leaving almost all at once. Jessica's gaze lingered on Nick's before he smiled cunningly at her, walking out of the room. Her eyes reverted back to the story he gave her, and inwardly sighed.

Was she really going to read this? She didn't even like the boy.

But she did like a good read.

That night, Jessica flopped on her bed with the attached papers and scanned the title again. _Let's see how good of a writer Nick Miller is..._ She thought to herself as she flipped to the first page. How many pages _was_ this anyway? She flipped through until she found the last page. Okay, so it was 97 pages. _This_ is a short read? It wasn't like a playwright either.

 _Dammit Miller..._

A couple of hours went by as she intently read this novel, and Jess had to say, this wasn't bad. A little wild for a story written by a 17 year old, but really clever. What intrigued and bothered her the most was that one of his characters were held anonymous whenever they would talk or do something important. The question marks were practically glaring out of the pages. Checking the page number, she was already on page 90.

Was Julius Pepperwood supposed to represent Nick? They had some similar characteristics, but she still didn't really know this Nick boy all too well. Were all of these characters based off real people? These are questions she could be asking Nick, but that would just give him more satisfaction into thinking she actually liked it. Laying on her back and reading this also made her wonder if she was ever going to be placed into this book. _Don't be ridiculous Day. He has known you for about two days, there's no way you'd be relevant in this 'short read'._

The book wasn't even _close_ to finished. By the looks of this rather unique plot, there was no way he could just end it on page 97.

After finishing the last seven pages, she thought about giving Cece a call. She never actually mentioned this Miller guy to her, so she might as well spill the tea now. This was definitely going to be a game changer, though. Whenever Jess even mentioned a boy, Cece would become majorly hyped and would hit her with interrogation-odd, because that was normally Jess's job.- And after it would finish, it always ended with a bottle of water and Advil-because _man,_ the questions this girl could come up with. You wouldn't believe.

Her thumb hovered over the call button below Cece's contact. It was already late, and although she would answer at the first ring, Jessica bit her lip hesitantly.

She could wait a day or two. What was the rush?

* * *

The next morning, Jess walked over to Nick Miller, who was already seated. Was he expecting her already? She wanted to slap the smugness out of this boy. She flopped the papers down on his desk, and raised her brows.

"Not bad, Miller. Did you finally think of the character name?" Jessica watched as amusement filled his face.

"I did."

"Well, what is it?"

He gestured her to lean closer, so Jess obliged. When she was close enough, his lips moved closer to her ear, whispering softly and causing a chill run down her spine. She despised that feeling.

"That's a spoiler. You'll just have to wait."

The blue-eyed girl frowned and leaned away from him, slumping down in the seat in front of him.

What a school year this was gonna be.

* * *

 **I hope this was longer than chapter one [probably not lmao]. I had A BUNCH of ideas that I came up with on the** **spot** **for this chapter. Rate/Review :) thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3

**hey all! sorry i haven't post _ed_ in a while but im back with another chapter! enjoy :) **

* * *

A week or two went by, and Jess was finally preoccupied with her life. She didn't find herself complaining about school as much since she finally grew used to her classes. This didn't really surprise her as much as it did Cece, because when Jess finally called her to check in and update, one of the first things said was, _"Look, I don't want to jinx anything, but you're not actually complaining... About anything._ "

The brunette smiled, shrugging her shoulders as the phone remained pressed against her ear. "I took your advice."

" _That's rare."_

"Don't be an ass!" Jess frowned, pushing her shopping cart in front of her. She stopped in her tracks when one of the wheels made a very obnoxious squeaking noise, groaning to herself. "Defective shopping carts."

Cece smirked at her best friend seemingly suffering through life again. " _Now it sounds like you. And since when did you take charge in_ adulting?"

Jessica rolled her eyes as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Never. I'm at Staples. I needed to pick up a few things for school." This should be a surprising thing, really. A senior shopping for school supplies? Most seniors just show up with a pencil. A singular pencil. However, this was Jessica Day: Future teacher and determined student.

" _For what?_ " She could hear Cece stifling a laugh over the phone and inwardly sighed.

"Pencils, highlighters, whiteout,.. post-its,... pens,-"

" _Jessica, what are you hiding?_ "

The brunette stopped abruptly, the shopping cart basically hitting her gut. Jess let out another groan, resting her head on her palm and leaned on the cart. "What are you talking about?"

" _The last time you said a word like that, you were all like, 'My boyfriend is going to spend the night at my house and we're going to watch movies, eat food, and ..._ sl _ee_ p"

She scoffed at her crazy best friend. "How could you compare such a subliminal word like sleep to the word _post-its?_ You've lost your mind." Damn, her best friend was good. How the hell could she read into things this well? This almost pissed Jess off. The brunette had to step up her game.

" _You're an odd one, Jessica Day._ " Her friend dismissed her last remark, continuing on their conversation. "Why do you need all of those things? It's not like you're really going to use any of them." _Yeah, tell that to the guy that sits behind me._

Jessica pressed her lips together. "You don't know that. I am a very crafty person, you know."

" _Crafty as in that time you burned yourself with the hot glue gun?"_

"You _never_ told me it was already on!"

Cece laughed over the phone, annoying Jessica further. "Let me get my shopping done. And let me live my life!" She said, making the last part louder before hanging up.

She pushed her shopping cart on as she directed herself toward the crafts aisle. As she slowly made the turn, about to go into the aisle, she immediately stopped the cart short, almost hitting herself again in the process. Her eyes spotted a certain brown haired boy bent down, checking out different types of paper. Jessica could feel her heart pacing in her chest as she slowly backed up with caution, clear out of Nick's sight.

However, she was curious...

Jessica moved forward ever so slightly without the cart, peeking into the aisle. She watched as Nick threw the package of paper in his shopping cart and continued looking around. Wow, how interesting. A regular person shopping for regular things.

As she watched his eyes scan the aisle, Jessica smiled when she saw him notice the post-its. A small grin appeared on his lips as well, picking up two small packages and tossing them into the cart. The fact that they were both registering the same thoughts almost caused her to laugh gleefully.

Nick resumed moving the cart, scaring Jess as she quickly ran to her cart, trying to turn around as fast as she could.

Unfortunately, life didn't want it to work out that way.

She tried turning the cart, and in the process of doing so, Jessica's cart hit Nick's. Almost immediately, their eyes met as Jessica sunk her teeth down on her bottom lip. When the familiarity dawned on him, a smirk lifted his face. She sighed, running a hand over a strand of hair.

"Hey Miller."

"Fancy running into you." He replied, his eyes shifting from her to her shopping cart. She noticed he was staring at the post-its which caused her cheeks to darken. Nick's smirk only widened as his amusement grew bigger. Jess stood there painfully, expecting him to say something witty. Spoiler alert: he didn't! Because she blurted out before he had the chance.

"I like to give myself reminders. These aren't for school." She quickly looked at her cart and glanced up at him, attempting at giving him her best _iamnotpredictable_ face. Unfortunately, she wasn't rocking this expression well.

"...Same reason." Nick said, not even trying to lie as his smile remained stretched on his lips. What beautiful liars they were.

Jess didn't reply, but instead nodded her head awkwardly as she began turning her cart around.

"Hey Day."

She turned her head toward his calling once more, shy but confused.

"I'll be sure to keep you _posted_ on my novel." He arched his brow, the papers in one hand and a finger gun in the other. Jesus Christ. She sighed dramatically, and rested a hand on her hip, turning to face him again.

"Save your puns for someone who would laugh." She swung her head away from his face. "And your finger guns!" She quickly exclaimed, walking straight out of his way. Jessica smiled to herself, feeling like she handled that encounter pretty well.

But it was not well enough. She didn't get that satisfactory feeling in her stomach like she won some game. It was more of a rain cloud appearing over her head. This was probably far from over.

It was so hard to crack Nick miller. How can one get through to that big thick head of his? He was too smug for his own good, and as much as she tried cracking down his ego, he was indestructible. As Jessica walked away, rolling the shopping cart forward, she slightly turned her face just enough to see if he was still looking at her. She noticed his gaze linger over her for a few more seconds before turning away as well. Minding herself, Jess raised her brows and cleared her throat as she glanced back to the cart-

-that rolled right into a tower of on-sale toilet paper. Jess watched as the tower came crumbling down, toilet paper rolling around the floor. She frowned in disappointment at the rolls and to Stupid Nick Miller. It was all his fault! He should be cleaning this all up-

-"Think fast!" A roll flew through the air as Jess watched, holding out her hands almost immediately and catching it. "Attention deficit?"

Jessica swore she was going to break this goddamn toilet paper roll in her hands. dontkillhimdontkillhimdONTKILLHIM-

" _Miller!"_ She cursed, picking up a couple of rolls and throwing it at him. A smile lifted onto his face as he dodged them, throwing some back at her as well. They were creating chaos in an innocent Staples. Why they were advertising toilet paper? Because their prices were going down the toilet. The rolls became to unravel as toilet paper began to create paper trails around the floor. The two started laughing as they realized that the paper went around them in a circle.

"Oh, and to top it off," Jessica bent down to pick up a half finished roll, and stood back up with it. Slowly but humorously, she wrapped some around his neck while adding some to his shoulders. "I have to say, this was a great improvement in your fashion sense." Nick arched his brow, a gleam in his eye as a laugh escaped her lips. "Good, right?"

He pressed his lips together and looked down at the floor and up at her once more. "I walked into that." She continued laughing, her eyes dancing with mirth as she let the next remark spill from her lips.

"I'd help you, but you seem to be pretty _wrapped_ _up_ in a lot right now." Jessica nodded reassuringly, her cheeks pink from smiling. Nick cleared his throat, biting a smile back as he shook off the toilet paper. She backed up to her cart as she noticed an employee approaching with disappointment written on her face.

While the employee was in the process of lecturing him on store educate, his eyes stayed on hers as if to say, _you win this one, Day._

* * *

That night, Nick tapped a pencil to his forehead as he stared down at the lined paper in front of him. It was one character name, but what made this female character so important that he couldn't just pick a name out of a hat? Well, he made her someone extraordinary and brave. Someone who isn't afraid to speak her mind and tell it like it is, even when one can't accept it. Who is filled with a natural light that could cause someone to want to do better-to be better. But who could he know that matched these characteristics?

These thoughts drove a specific name past his mind, causing Nick to shake his head incredulously. Just the thought of that one name could create a ten second montage of his relationship-his first love. He could visualize himself falling for her eyes, brushing hands as they'd walked side by side, and kisses being shared on the beach at night. But as months went on, he was reminded of the person that stayed up making drunken calls for the girl never who answered-with a British accent, mind you- conveying his undying love. Nick remembered the endless amounts of texts he'd send-and never got a reply for, leaving him heartbroken. Honestly, he probably had more time being heartbroken about Caroline than being in love with her. Did she even deserve a place in this book?

But when he pictured this female character-he didn't picture ashy blonde hair and sheer problems. This woman didn't radiate off a natural light that sparked individuality. Caroline wasn't much of a leader figure, nor was she really heroic. Nick pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed. _Caroline_ could _not_ be the woman to fill her shoes. The character would not come from a good inspiration-for he'd recall the uncertainty of her feelings and the times she'd stomped on his heart.

Who could fill these shoes?

Right then, he dropped his pencil and rubbed his temples. _No._ Could it be? Was his head too far up his ass?

...But on the other hand, there wasn't anyone there to tell him he couldn't choose her. She was the first person to really have unconditional honesty. The kind that drove him absolutely mad while enforcing his sensibility. She challenged him in any way she could. Even though he still had a lot to learn about her, what was the worst that could happen if she was put to the test?

And for sure as hell, she was certain of what she wanted.

Carefully and while making his heart beat a little faster in his chest, he picked up the pencil and wrote the two words down. He glanced at the print as a small curve of his lip turned up, tracing the letters as they were easy to glide across the paper.

 **Jessica Knight.**

* * *

The next day, no other than Jessica Day sauntered into the classroom. Nick knew from right where she stepped foot, that she was the right choice for the character. He could see it now: light blue eyes, long brown hair and an endearing smile you could fall for. The glasses she wore added to her image, and she was just as beautiful-or even more so-when the brunette took them off. He paused his thoughts momentarily to check in with himself. Was he admiring her as the character in his book? Or was he-

 _hey_.

The post-it note flew onto his desk, stopping his thoughts. Maybe that was a sign that he had done enough thinking for one day.

 _hello?_

The fair skin she inherited had also brought out the rose in her cheeks whenever she grew embarrassed-

 _HELLOOOooooO_

She might as well be throwing paper airplanes.

 _jello?_

 **wow, what's with all the flying post-its? They're getting aggressive, Day.**

 _well you weren't answering my damn messages_

 **you know, if i could insert a gif right here, it would be Beyonce's, "Why you so obsessed with me?"**

 _wow look! another joke that no one laughed at_

 **i'm gonna stop replying again.**

 _you lie so bad_

 _NICK_

 _PEPPERWOOD_

 _WHY ARE YOU SO PREOCCUPIED_

 **What is with all the messages? Are you trying to tell me something**

 _uhm no_

 _do you want an m &m_

 **no... why do you have them?**

 _well my mom hides the chocolate from me because she says it gets me crazy but she obviously doesn't know what she's talking about_

 **... i agree with your mom.**

 _you dont even know her!_

 **well if you didn't eat those, you wouldn't be throwing these post-its like they're baseballs. You're gonna poke my eyes out.**

 _well on second thought, i should work on my aim._

 _what are you so busy with?_

 **i thought you wanted to learn**

 _we have a sub in case you didn't notice_

 **i didn't notice because we never learn shit in here**

 _because you're the one always throwing the post-its_

 **so you're returning the favor! ;)**

 _bye_

 **i'm writing Pepperwood chronicles.**

 _whats happening in it?_

 **Pepperwood is making fun of Knight's last name.**

 _what's Knight's first name?_

 **none-of-yo-business**

 _uhm it should be, im like a top fan thank you_

A smile emerged onto his lips as he stared at the girl who was writing another note. He glanced down again when he noticed her fidgeting movements to pass the note back.

 _who makes fun of knights anyway?_

 **sick people.**

 _now i see why you portray him well_

 **are you done mocking me yet? i have great things i should be writing**

 _whatevvvvzs_

After the repetitive note after note banters, Jess watched as Nick slid the Pepperwood papers into his backpack as he slid it on his back. With a mischievous gleam in her blue eyes, she sunk her teeth down onto her lip as she slowly raised her hands forward. Subtly, she began walking behind him as he made his way leaving the classroom.

Closer...

She lifted her arms higher, her hands in more of a position to grip the papers. They were almost reaching for the prize as she could practically feel the spoilers reaching her finger tips-

Nick whipped around and caught her wrist with his hand gently. Jess winced at the reaction, feeling her breath hitch in her chest. His touch sent shivers up her spine, prickling her lower back with goosebumps. She shook her head and felt her body reactions exaggerating. Jessica played it off cool by tilting her head back miserably and groaning, "I just want to know the character name."

"You just need to be patient. I'll let you read it eventually, if you're not a consistent pain in my ass." Nick narrowed his brows, some kindness shaping his lips. His eyes drifted to the top of her head, confusing her momentarily. "Oh hey, you got a little..." He trailed off, stepping an inch closer to the girl. Her heart beat jumped as his hands reached out to her, caressing her hair back gently. Nick was way too close for her comfort, for she was able to smell the mint gum he'd been chewing. The boy leaned away with a speck of dust on his finger and smirked. "You had a piece of dust in your hair." He clarified after removing his hands and taking their warmth with him.

Her dazed eyes remained on his as he gave her a smug smile. "See ya later Day. You should get _that_ checked out." He gestured to the top of his head, a worried yet humorous expression written on his face. Before leaving her presence, Nick gave her a flirtatious wink before turning down the hallway.

The brunette closed her slightly parted mouth when she could feel her feet again. It was as if she was kissed by the freakin' boy! Shaking her head to reality, she ran a hand through her hair as he did, thinking the only words that had been able to register in her mind.

 ** _what_. was _that?_**

* * *

 **review/follow/favorite to keep up with this story! :) adios for now lovelies. -Cali**


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: sorry i haven't updated in fifty years BUT I'M BACK! I CAME BACK FROM CALIFORNIA AND IM CONTINUING:)

in case i made the mistakes in the chapters prior, **bold** is Nick and _italics_ are Jess. I feel like I mixed them up in a couple of chapters before. Oh well.

Enjoy!

* * *

Jessica was early to school for a change, happily strutting into the empty classroom and toward her seat. She loved being early-it was her all-time specialty and _god strike her dead if she wasn't the earliest in this damn classroom_ -

-It took her a couple of seconds to realize that she was in fact _not_ the first person to arrive. Her happy smile turned into a frown as she set down her backpack onto the floor. _You've got to be kidding me. Why is this bozo early?_ She primarily didn't notice a person at the desk, because _why_ would she? Instead, saw a vintage typewriter.

Narrowing her eyes, Jess let out a sigh, wondering if Nick knew what math class was. As far as she knew, one doesn't focus solely on words in math, but the numbers and equations. How did he get this far? This boy never did cease to amaze Jess-yet _piss her off_ at the same time. She could work her absolute ass off to then find this hippy already walking a step ahead of her. It's like he's cheating his way through life-and winning each step of the way.

Soon enough, Nick walked back in the classroom and caught Jess's eyes immediately. He sat down at his seat and placed a piece of paper on the paper table. Before the boy really could begin typing, he noticed Jessica's stare and glanced at her questionably. "Do you know what class this is?"

He glanced at his watch. "Math."

Jess carefully looked at him and faked a concern expression. She looked to the typewriter and then to his confused face, slowly saying, "Do you know what century this is?"

Nick rolled her eyes and ignored her comment, typing _chapter 4_ onto the paper. "I never thought I'd meet someone more hipster than me."

He didn't remove his eyes from his paper as he replied to her. "Just because I like using typewriters doesn't mean I'm living up to that stereotypical hipster standard." Nick paused typing to add to his comment. "You might be, though."

Ouch, burn. Jess raised her brows and nodded with defeat. Did Miller wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? Or were her comments finally beginning to piss him off? Maybe she should back off a little. She considered apologizing to him or changing the subject, but she found an alternative solution. Reaching into her backpack and grabbing something, she popped open the cap.

Nick stopped typing to look at her in slight annoyance, wondering what she could want now. "M&M?" Jess said with innocence in her tone, showing him her mini mms bottle. He held back a smile when he saw the delicate softness in her blue eyes and simply nodded, holding out his hand as she tapped the bottle with her index finger and softly poured some for him.

"How do you do it?" She wondered out loud, watching some of the m&ms fall into his hand.

"Do what?"

"Live your life on some sort of secret menu concept."

Nick blinked. "Come again?"

Jessica shook her head and rephrased. "I mean, you look like you've been winning through life. I mean look!" She pointed at his typewriter to prove her point. "You're typing an original story during a math class. Which you're probably going to pass anyway."

She noticed the corners of his lips lift a little as he ran a hand through his hair. "Trust me Day, I'm not winning through life." Jess's eyes shifted to his, curiously wanting the boy to elaborate. Instead of elaborating, he chose to remain silent.

He glanced at her after she closed the cap, Jess watching him down the m&ms like a pro. After a couple of minutes of silence and waiting for class to start, a note flew onto his desk. Nick took a breath, but remained patient as his hands stopped typing. He picked up the post it to read it.

 _Hey Miller?_

 **Yes, Day?**

Jess huffed and scratched the back of her head shyly as she wrote the next message.

 _Look uh, I'm sorry if I've been on your case lately. I really am a good person, I swear._

 **And nosy?**

Jess glared at his written remark, about to write down a retaliating response. Luckily for him, another note was passed quick enough.

 **However, I know you're a good person, Jessica.**

A small smile appeared back on her lips in no time.

 _So, truce?_

Nick spun around in his chair to reply to her written response as everyone started unpacking their backpacks.

"Truce." Just as Jess was about to open her mouth happily to comment, Nick quickly clarified. "But-you still can't read my book." Her smile dropped as she leaned against her chair. Luckily, as she was going to argue, the bell rang for class to start. _Saved by the bell, Miller. Saved by the bell._

 _pls_

 **no**

 _pls_

 **double no.** **stop being a baby. why are you so obsessed with my story?**

 _i love books_

 **its not even published**

 _doesn't mean i can't speculate your story_

 **go right ahead**

 **but at least pay attention in class, even though I'm not**

 _fine._

 **good.**

 _GREAT._

She threw the note behind her and sighed as Jess focused on her stupid core subject. If this was English class, her teacher would be impressed with how much focus she had around the topic. It wasn't even the plot she was solely intrigued of, but the female character and her name. Why was it such a big mystery? Although for Jess, names must've had to stick to a person enough to write them into a novel.

Perhaps since he wrote himself as Pepperwood, did that mean he wrote certain people into other characters?

And who the hell was Knight? Should she be over analyzing? Probably not.

It didn't stop from furthering her intrigue. Knight probably wouldn't be someone she knew since he was a new student here. Unless he had some scandalous history with someone in her grade-doubtful,- _half were lesbians anyway-_ , then she had no clue. As her focus attempted at learning glorious math factorials, it had other things in mind, like clicking, per say. She couldn't stop hearing a clicking sound after ten minutes of not realizing.

Jessica blew some air out of her mouth in an over-dramatic sigh as she sunk down in her chair. Another part of her also kept screaming to _stop being nosy. It's his business._ It's his business, and if there's a line in the sand, she shouldn't step over it.

But dammit, she's always digging holes.

He's been here what-almost a month? Nick definitely had more friends than just his post-it-passing buddy every first period. She never really investigated who he cared to hang out with, though. Before Jess could elaborate on those thoughts-she paused. This would be an example of something Cece would be screaming _no_ over and over again about.

But what was so wrong with her idea? All she wanted to do was see how this hippy socializes, like for example, who he sits with at lunch, who he talks to during some school periods-just the simple things. _No, that doesn't qualify as borderline stalker. It's not like I'd be doing anything wrong._ She rolled her eyes to herself, shaking her head.

 _digdigdigdigdigdigdigdig..._

Nick was watching the show in front of him, smiling in amusement at her very obvious thinking expressions. One second her brow would shift up really high, but then back down into a furrow. Out of all the people he knew in his life, this girl seemed to be the most reactive to about-well, _everything._ If someone were to make her a TV show, it would be made up of witty remarks and a lot of singing. Not your typical singing in front of an audience, but _literally_ -to herself.

As the bell rang for next period, he gave the girl a look as he walked out of the classroom. Jess frowned and gripped her backpack on her back. _This is not over, Miller._ She thought to herself as her feet picked up into a skip as she flew out of the classroom.

* * *

By lunch time, the brunette peeked her eyes into the cafeteria as she stalked around for the boy. _Where are you, you little hippy._ As Jess peered closer, she almost tripped over her own feet. A person carrying a lunch tray gave her an odd look as he passed on, Jess giving him a harder glare as they began to walk faster.

As she returned to find him, her eyes scanned intently until-voila! Found him. He was spotted walking out of the lunch line, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Nick's eyes seemed to lighten at the sight of his friends, smoothly moon-walking toward them and sitting down at the table. Jess, currently puzzled at his course of actions, continued watching as he began to converse with his hippy friends. A brunette appeared next to the girl, a rigid line set on her lips. "If you're wondering what that smell is coming from, it's that table over there."

Jess shrugged. "What smell?"

The girl raised her brows with surprise. "The Ganga?"

Unfortunately, Jessica didn't follow. "The... What?"

"Cannabis? _Weed?_ " She crossed her arms at the innocent girl. "When I become a cop, I swear I'll be busting those people left and right."

A smirk appeared on Jess's lips as she held out her hand. "Jessica Day."

The brunette smiled back and shook her hand gladly. "Aly." The two both nodded as Aly walked away to her lunch table. She could hear the girl's rather loud remark from the distance, smirking as she heard: "Cannabis, huh?"

The bell for last period finally blared as teenagers filled the hallways to walk out of school, Jess gripping her satchel while digging in her pocket for her keys. As she opened a separate school door-away from the annoying clutter of smelly teenagers-, she eyed the hippy once more who happened to be sitting by himself. She could just make out the clear smoke floating from his mouth as her eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"It's because of your lunch table, that I know what the word _Ganga_ means now."

Nick released the remains of the smoke and smirked. "Relax, Day. I only use vape pens. My friends are the ones with the ziplocks of 'oregano'" He shrugged off as he put air quotes around the last word. "Plus, do I _stink_ of marijuana to you?"

"How should I know?"

"Come closer." He gestured casually, but Jess reluctant to do so. When he noticed her hesitating, he rolled his eyes. "I don't bite, _Jessica_."

She tensed at the way he said her name as Jess subconsciously took a step closer and inhaled through her nose. He took another inhale through the pen he held and breathed it out after the next few moments.

The brunette sniffed carefully and shifted her eyes to the boy. "Cucumbers?"

"It's flavored. See? They don't all smell bad." The girl blinked, clearly understanding her lack of education around smoking. After standing in silence for a few moments, Nick softened. "Do you want to try it?"

Her cheeks turned a bright pink as she shyly looked at the ground. "I don't know how to." The boy's eyebrow arched in confusion as he leaned forward.

"You've never smoked before? Like anything?"

Her face felt like it was burning from embarrassment as she glanced down at her feet. " _No_." She said roughly.

"Here." Nick patted the seat next to him, moving his typewriter out of the way. "Sit." Jess breathed inwardly as she sat next to him, leaving some space between the two. "So here's the vape I have." She took notice of the flash-drive-looking thing in his hand. "There's a little button on the top that you're gonna want to press when you take a drag." Jess bit down on her lip nervously. Pausing, he looked at her nervously. "You... know what a _drag_ is, right?-"

"Okay, I'm not that behind, Miller."

Nick nodded immediately. "Good." Slowly, he lifted the pen to his lips and showed her step by step. After bringing the pen out between his lips, he exhaled as the white smoke flew out. Jess watched carefully and raised her brows with intrigue. He noticed this and smiled as he eyed at the girl again. "Brave enough?"

He handed her the pen and Jess had to ignore the fact that his lips were just on it as she slipped it between her lips. Her fingers pressed down on the button as she inhaled slowly.

Nick watched as she attempted to inhale the vape, but chuckled as Jess grew into a fit of coughs. "I probably could have told you that might happen." He said as she furrowed her brows, coughing away the smoke that came out of her mouth.

"That-cough-would have been-cough- helpful to know." She handed him the pen and held her chest. "Never again."

"For a second there I thought we could've been vaping buddies too." Nick pouted sarcastically.

"Go finish your story, ya jerk." She wiped her mouth, standing up and walking over to her car. "And let's just stick to _post-it note communication_!"

"Will do, Kn-Day!"

Jess winced as she dropped her keys in front of her car. Nick snapped his head to her direction, mentally cursing at himself for almost slipping another last name.

"What was that?"

Nick panicked, so he yelled out, "Ya ninny!"

He smiled as she rolled her eyes, went into her car and drove out of her spot. Jess bit back a smile as she honked when her car passed the bench the boy sat at. Nick's gaze lingered on her driving car as Jess watched through her rear view mirror, wrists clenching on the wheel.

Damn, did he make her crazy.

* * *

 **Favorite, Follow, and Review for more dramaaaah :]**

 **-Cali**


	5. Chapter 5

its been... a while. i deeply apologize, however, you'd much rather enjoy to read this amazing next chapter.. :)

enjoy! favorite/review:)

* * *

"No. _Way_." Jessica exclaimed, gasping and attempting to contain her utter exhilaration. "Don't you dare play with my heart, Cece."

She heard a laugh from the end of the line making her heart lurch. " _I'm finally flying out to LA! My mother finally said yes after weeks of asking_." Jessica then heard her pause on the phone. " _However, I_ would _need a place to stay and_ -"

"You're covered _!_ " Jess squealed, practically spinning on her feet. "When are you flying in? Gosh, I need to take out the air mattress and gather your favorite sheets and buy your favorite food and-" Cece squeezed her eyes as her friend rambled all of her words in one breath.

" _Jess._ Breathe." Her friend guided as Jessica paused mid rant. The brunette paused and took a deep breath, exhaling so her friend could hear. " _I'm coming in four days._ "

"YAY! I'm sorry, I'm just so excited to see you. It's literally been-"

"- _Two months?_ "

Jessica narrowed her eyes and shrugged. "Okay well, it still feels longer to me." She went on to say more, but was cut off shortly from hearing the classroom door swing open. Rolling her eyes, she kept the phone pressed to her ear as she murmured, "gotta go. People are starting to walk in. I'll talk to you soon! In person!" Jess chirped before hanging up, slipping her phone into her jeans pocket.

"Jessica Day? Wearing jeans? I never thought I'd live to see the day." The brunette whipped her head around to find no other than Mr. I'm-a-writer-so-I-can-automatically-say-something-slick. _That's a really long last name_. Whatever.

She adjusted her brown curls with confidence and sighed. "I do have an extensive amount of fashion, thank you very much." Jess placed her hands on her hips before turning away and heading to her seat.

"Well, you should wear jeans more. I like it." Nick shrugged, his eyes scanning below her waist before sitting down at his desk. The girl kept her eyes on her own desk, fearing that if she looked up he'd see the blush on her cheeks. _Dammit Jess, get it together. Stop getting so flustered._ She fidgeted in her desk with the knowledge that he checked her out. _And stop moving! You look like you're having a seizure._

 **your body language makes it very obvious that you're deep in thought**

 _what makes you say that?_

 **well, for example, you do shake your knee a lot. And don't get me started with your facial expressions.**

 _wow, how observant of u. are u ever going to focus on the work?_

 **when something peeks my interest, i become more observant to it.**

 _ughhh stfu_

Jessica pressed the side of her face into her palm as she attempted to focus for the millionth time. She swore if she didn't pay attention sooner or later, her grade would definitely plummet under a 65 in no time.

-And Jessica Day refuses to plummet below a 80, dammit.

The clock ticked on as the class dragged on, lecture after lecture with some occasional equations and awkward technology fails. The brunette actually began to yawn, her interest dropping by the second. Wow, did math suck. The corners of her eyes shifted over to the hippy who was busy typing away on his freaking typewriter. Shaking her head, Jess sank in her seat. Was this class ever going to end?

A thought crossed her mind, and without thinking into it, Jess pulled out another post-it, scribbled another note and passed it over to the boy that sat behind her. Eagerly she waited as the sound of unfolding paper filled her ears, insinuating that Nick was bound to react rather smug.

 _well, what else do you observe about me Miller_

She could tell he was smiling which only bugged her further. Leaning forward on her desk, Jess rested her chin onto her palm as she waited. A few moments later, a crinkled piece of paper tossed back on her desk.

 **would you like me to write a list?**

Jess hated the fact that this boy was so smug. As if he knew her better than she really knew herself. Bullshit. There was this odd maturity instilled within him that she couldn't quite figure out. As if he was made to behave and carry himself older than his years.

* * *

After the long, never-ending school day, Jessica sat at her school's window-seats with her guitar. She was still pretty amateur and her callouses were far from developed, but it didn't stop her from expanding her artistic abilities. Originally, she was supposed to go to her guitar club, but came to find that it was cancelled due to some last minute meetings.

The girl didn't let that bother her, though. She was also self-teaching on the days she didn't have the club. And if one was surprised, they shouldn't be. This was typical Jessica Day training her responsible capabilities.

She plucked some strings on the Taylor, a smile forming on her lips as it played out a clear tune. Jess finally could see herself getting the hang of it. Switching her finger placement, she played another chord-

Nick stopped in his tracks and raised a brow at his view. "We meet again. I'm always seeing you around." Jess looked up, her bangs falling over her forehead in the process.

"What? I didn't even-I didn't even see you there." She caressed her hair out of her eyes, mentally cursing at herself. Nick just shook his head with a small smile, joining her on the window seats. He sat still, waiting to hear more music.

"I should say I'm surprised to see your musical talent, but I'm not. You'd look like a girl with pipes."

Jess nodded slowly, not sure if this was a compliment or not. "Is that a compliment?" Nick noticed the confusion in her eyes and chuckled.

"Uh, yes. You sing too?" He clarified as Jess nodded in agreement.

"Uh, not really. I mean a little." When the boy didn't say anything but stared, she pitched in again reluctantly. "So.. Do you play?"

Nick smiled as he stared back at her guitar as if recalling a memory. "Yeah, once, years ago. My mom taught me a little." Jessica's eyes glowed with intrigue as she tilted her head.

"Really? I wanna hear." She loosened her grip on her guitar, considering handing it over.

"You're trusting me with your instrument?" He watched her carefully as he gripped the neck of the guitar. A small smile lifted onto the girl's face, shrugging her shoulders.

"As long as you don't pull a stunt like _The Who_ after a live concert."

Nick's eyes flashed to hers happily. "You like _The Who?"_

"You don't think a girl could enjoy some Rock & Roll in this modern _teenage wasteland?"_ The brunette winked as a laugh escaped the boy's mouth. It was so friendly and inviting that suddenly she liked being responsible for it. _What?_

She blinked at her confusing thought process. "Play something!"

Nick rolled his eyes. "I only remember some chords." He positioned his fingers carefully and strummed when feeling confident. About three strings rang out but the others fell mute. "Agh, it's been too long."

"Here." Jessica reached over and guided his hand so that it was arched more upright. Her hand touched his and the connection she noticed gave her a slight chill, but ignored it as her hand released the grip. The girl's eyes shifted from his hand to his eyes, also noticing that his were lingered on hers as well. Clearing her throat, she spoke up out of the awkwardness. "Play it again."

Breaking out of his trance, he lightly strummed again and with luck, all the strings rang in perfect harmony. "Who knew one little change could bring it all together?"

"Yeah." Jess answered plainly. "Who knew?" She watched as he looked down at the strings, gently picking some of them softly. Once he felt her eyes on him, they both stared at one another until Jess felt herself leaning forward slowly-

Her phone blared as they both jumped, Nick gripping her guitar protectively. She leaped to check her phone and found an incoming call from Cece. Jess nervously eyed Nick and pointed at her phone. His lips formed an 'o' and nodded, placing the guitar gently on top of its case and waved. While she was distracted on the phone, he quickly pulled something out from his pocket and scribbled words down before placing in on her case. She watched him walk away as she placed the phone to her ear.

As soon as the girl made it out the doors of school, she leaned against them and sighed inwardly. She began to wonder if his comment was really just about the guitar, or something else. _Come on Jess, he was obviously just talking about the stupid guitar strings._ She immediately cancelled her thoughts, knowing that the strings were in fact, not stupid.

Jess couldn't help but feel this way about the stupid boy. She didn't even like the feeling, she hated it. It was like he looked right past her eyes, looking at her bare body. Jess closed her eyes and rolled her sleeves over her hands. The brunette stared at the ground where her guitar case, and noticed something attached to the bottom. Peeling it off, Jessica scanned the small post-it in her hands.

 **thanks for the lesson. see you around, Day.**

She even hated the smirk that rose up onto her face.

* * *

"Abby, can you please stop taking my mascara? Jess complained, groaning when the tube was nowhere to be found. She walked into her sister's room, where she was flicking her eyelashes tremendously. Abby was wearing dark jeans with a skull patterned belt and a crop top that stopped just above her belly button. Her hair was crimped and wild and-well, the whole picture was completely the opposite of Jessica Day. Jess glanced down at herself, noticing her tank top and pajama shorts. _What a look._

"No-can-do, sis. I don't have the money to buy a new one." She caressed her locks back, shooting Jess an apologetic smile. Jessica narrowed her eyes as her arms crossed against her chest.

"You just got your allowance."

"Yeah..." She trailed off, stepping closer to her sister. "Well spent, too." Abby giggled, gesturing to her newly pierced belly button. Jess gaped at her sister, shaking her head disapprovingly.

"You do realize our parents are going to kill you?"

Abby shrugged, waving it off completely. "You'd think they'd stop being surprised by now." Jess shook her head again, turning on her feet and walking away. Abby furrowed her brows as she noticed something stuck to her sister's foot. A... Post it? With writing on it? "Hey, Jess, there's something on your foot."

Jess stopped in her tracks and lifted up her foot. Abby could swear she saw a blush rising onto her sister's face. Her whole face brightened at the new information. Abby ran over and before Jess could run or protest, snatched the paper out of her hand.

"Abby, _stop!-"_

Abby raised it high over her sister's head. "' _when something peeks my interest, i become more observant to it._ '" Jessica Day, who is this?" She yelled excitedly.

She wanted to crawl into a corner and die. "Abby please just give it back. It's just some guy in my class."

She lowered the note and Jess snatched it back defensively. "Name? And what boy starts a conversation that way?" Abby remarked, her hands resting on her hips.

"Nick." Jess said in a quiet voice. "And He didn't." Jess spoke quieter. "We were mid conversation."

"About what?"

The brunette could feel her cheeks burn. "Body language?"

Abby's eyes widened excitedly her mouth agape-

" _Not like that!"_ Jessica snapped, stuffing the note in her pocket. "He was just being observant and knew I was distracted, that's all."

Her sister smirked. "So you've talked before?"

"I mean yeah I guess." She looked down at the floor uncomfortably. This situation couldn't get any more awkward than it was at the moment. "But he's just a friend." Jessica met her sister's eyes seriously. "Seriously, Abby. Nothing to investigate or Facebook stalk over. Abby stared at her suspiciously for a few moments, but shrugged her shoulders.

After a few awkward seconds, the doorbell rang. Abby squealed excitedly. "Yay, my ride is early!" She skipped happily to the front door and swung it open. The girl frowned at the appearance of a hippy. "You're not my ride. And no, I would not like a reading from Jesus-"

"I'm not a hippy or some crazy catholic." Nick immediately clarified as Abby slowly nodded. "Is Jessica home?" A knowing smile grew on her face as she turned her head. "Jessica," She quickly turned back to the boy. "Name?"

"Uh, Nick M-"

Abby's lips curled in a smirk. " _Nick_ is at the door!"

 _Nick?_

Jessica practically sprinted to the door and gaped. "Nick? How did you know-"

"Abby likes to post a lot of information on her Facebook."

Jess turned to Abby and glared. "A psycho murderer could show up at our house because of the details on your _Facebook profile?_ "

"Look, I'm an open book, what can I say?" Abby replied, smirking at her sister as she walked on. "Have fun discussing body language with your boy toy." She whispered, Jessica abruptly slapping her sister's arm.

Jess walked over closer to Nick's view. "What's up?"

"I wanted to return this to you. I know how important these things are to people." Nick began very seriously, making Jessica wonder what he was about to pull out. He reached into his backpack with a concerned expression, pulling out the object. Jess grew confused as she looked intense in the moment. Nick glanced back at the girl with the object in hand.

An individual guitar pick.

Her eyebrows fell dull as her eyes shifted back to his. "Do you know how many of those I lose a year?"

"Well maybe you'll stop losing them with me around." Nick smirked, leaning his elbow on the door frame. Jess crossed her arms as she stared in boredom.

"Is that all you came here for, Miller? Unless this is about the book-"

"No, uh, actually." He crinkled his brows slightly, the tone in his voice reluctant. Something that Jess never saw on him: reluctance? What was this about?

Nick stepped closer to the girl, noticing their proximity decrease. She could begin to smell the cologne he put on earlier that day. "I was wondering..." He trailed off, Jess noticing the visibility of the cold air escape his lips. "We-"

Jessica's jaw dropped, her hand resting on her chest with caution. "Oh my-"

For a moment, Nick thought he did something wrong or to offend her. Wait- he hadn't even asked yet. Of course, they're both standing at the door together on a winter night, their proximity closing in from a perfect distance, so close, and yet-

He turned around as he saw her eyes in shock from something beyond him.

There stood a brunette in the driveway nearing the stairs, a sheepish yet confused expression on her face. Walking closer, her eyes lingering on Jessica. "Uh, hello."

* * *

 **muah :) its been a while. To be continued!  
:)**

 **-Cali**


	6. Chapter 6

There was no phone call this time. No distance, no walls. No more casual conversation, but live and in-your-face.

"Cece, but how-" Jess managed, at a loss of words. The brunette standing ahead of the two stepped forward, eyes lingering on Nick.

"I wanted to surprise you. Guess I succeeded." A small smile formed on her lips, eyes shifting from Nick to Jess. "And much to my surprise, you have a boy." She said with a matter-of-fact tone, gesturing to the boy. "At your door."

Jess smiled sheepishly, rubbing her foot on the concrete beneath them. "See, it's a long story." Cece nodded dismissively, waving it off.

"Perfect timing. It's why I'm here, aren't I? We have a _lot_ to catch up on." Jess nodded, a blush forming on her face as apprehension filled her stomach. Nick pressed his lips in a firm line as he glanced back at this model-like girl in front of him. After a moment or two of awkward silence shared between the three teenagers, Nick decided to do the right thing. Something to clear the air. And get _out_ of this situation.

He stepped forward and held out his hand. Cece glanced down quizzically. "I'm Nick. Nick Miller." And with that, he flashed her one of his seemingly brilliant smiles. To Cece, it just looked like he reenacted James Bond-but incorrectly. With her best attempt at being polite, also wanting to exit this situation, she smiled back reluctantly.

"Great."

* * *

Jessica Day rolled her eyes as she sat down on her bed, awaiting an intervention from her best friend. Cece raised her eyebrows at her friend, about to open her mouth-

"I know what you're thinking. Don't you think I would have told you if I had a boyfriend?" She interrupted a pending remark, crossing her arms against her chest. "We've never gone out, much less dated. Completely platonic."

Her friend chuckled as she joined her on her bed, crossing her legs together. "Oh Jess. I haven't even said anything and you're clarifying _what_ exactly?" Jess rolled her eyes and laid against one of her pillows. "There was no implication. You don't need to worry."

Jess thought for a minute before speaking. "Okay, the fact that you're saying I don't need to worry is making me worry anyway." Why is it that Cece can read her like a book? Cece smiled expectantly, patting her friend's shoulder.

"Even though you say this is platonic, I'll believe you. For now."

"And why's that?"

Cece narrowed her eyes at the brunette in front of her. "Jessica, don't tell me you don't see it." Jess's heart leapt, eager for her friend to elaborate. "Even walking into a seemingly private, yet intimate conversation made me conclude that you're on this boy's mind."

Jessica blurted out laughter,-awkward laughter,- and slapped her knee. Cece furrowed her eyebrows confusingly. "When did you become some kind of love expert? You-you goddess of knowing things about... love and Dr Phil," She mentally cursed at herself as she murmured a small, "what?"

Cece held her shoulders with a reassuring expression "You're spiraling. Relax, Day." The girl let out a breath and groaned.

"Look. He's been an honest pain in my ass since the first day of school. I almost hate him and I swear I could plan out a murder-"

"-You can barely handle hurting an ant. Jess, are there things that have stood out to you about him?"

"This boy is frustrating. He tests my patience, he disrupts my learning flow..." She begun to think about his stupid smirk, his mocking jokes, and the amount of post its that hit her in the back of her head. Although, there was more. The small moments. The small, unintended, subtle moments.

 _"Who knew one little change could bring it all together?"_

 _"Yeah." Jess answered intently. "Who knew?" She watched as he looked down at the strings, gently picking some of them softly._

"He makes me look at things differently..." Jess shifted, raising her brows in thought. Cece smiled in response.

 _"How do you do it?" She wondered out loud, watching some of the m &ms fall into his hand._

 _"Do what?"_

 _"Live your life on some sort of secret menu concept."_

Jess thought for a few silent moments before concluding, "There's just something about him I can't figure out, I guess." She shrugged, picking up her tea mug and taking a sip.

Cece nodded, arching her brow up before sipping her cup as well. "You need him."

Jessica raised her eyebrows and turned back to her friend, doing a double take. "Come again?"

Cece set down the mug and moved closer to the girl, her eyes serious. "Jess, you've been so afraid of taking risks. This boy, the way you described some things, sounds like someone that could open you up. And I'm not talking sexual-although you really shouldn't be objective to that-"

"-Go on..." Cece smiled at her friend's blush. Although Jessica seemed reluctant to her input, she continued on.

"He could probably teach you a thing or two about living life outside of the cookie cutter method. If you let him, that is. He doesn't sound like much of a planner like you are, but maybe if you follow into the eccentricity of being spontaneous, you might feel a change in yourself."

Jess boggled her eyes at her friend. "In English, please."

Cece sighed, but rephrased. "Have I really followed a plan in my own life?"

Jess shrugged slightly and replied, "I mean, you are _now_ with modeling and all."

"I had to think a _million times_ before taking on this internship, Jess. I'm not exactly one of those girls who would jump right into college after high school. But the point is, as different as it is to hang out with someone who goes through life non-traditionally, sometimes different is good."

The brunette narrowed her eyes and bluntly replied, "He's a _hippy_ who uses a _typewriter_ in a _math_ class."

Cece smiled. "And those are the people who are more likely go places. He seems like a good guy. " Jess sat back and curled her legs closer to herself, taking in her friend's words. When did she get so intellectual? Maybe with her being away this long, she developed some new sense of being. These are the things someone could potentially learn without college. Someone like Nick. Jess pressed her lips firmly as she set down her mug and sighed.

When did things start growing complicated? Before she could think any further and really get down to the root of things,-

Cece brushed her hair to the side, her expression growing into a glare. "However, aside from digging into your friendship with this boy, would you like to start by explaining _why_ you didn't tell me earlier?"

So much for having nothing to worry about.

* * *

 **jess**

 **j e s s**

 **jessica**

 **who is your lady friend**

 **that was an awkward night i might add lollmao**

 **can you respond its obvious youre not paying attention to the lesson**

 _you throw one more paper at the back of my head i will cut off your hands_

 **jess! hi**

 _what_

 **who is your lady friend**

 _smh_

 **what**

 _her name is Cece and she is my best friend_

 **oh**

 _uh huh_

 **shes pretty**

 _well she's working to become a model_

 **shes very likely to become** **one**

 _yeah i know_

 **why are u being dull today**

 _go away_

 **jess**

Before he could throw the next paper, Jessica caught his hand as he raised it, giving him a warning look. He held his hands up defensively as she rolled her eyes, turning back around to her work.

After a few minutes, the hippy took a risk. He took out his post-its again and continued writing

 **i need help with my story.**

He tossed over the note and watched her read it. She had a slightly different reaction and he smiled as Jess took out her pen.

 _ok im listening_

 **i knew i'd get your attention**

 **so Pepperwood is a guy who doesn't have a lot of things. he's poor. what kind of character does that make him**

 _well for one, he might have more appreciation for the things in life and he's probably a grateful person?_

 **he takes risks**

 _ok,so, a poor man who has nothing, but risks everything to feel something_

 ** _you_ may be on to something, Day.**

Jessica smiled at the last post-it, folding it up and resting it under her desk along with the other ones.

* * *

The brunette sauntered down the halls, her skirt swishing side to side as she approached her locker.

"boo!"

Jess flinched, nearly hitting her head into her locker. She couldn't be non-spastic for about a couple of minutes? Huffing in annoyance, she whipped her head around to reveal her best friend.

Cece noticed her deadpan expression and blinked. "Wow. Is this how _all_ seniors look in high school this year?"

"When they're nearly bruised on the forehead from a locker, yes." Jess remarked, grabbing a couple of books. Cece smiled and shrugged in response. "How are you allowed in here? It's the middle of the day."

"Hey, it's only been a year since I've been here. I know all the other doors in the building that can let me in. And people." She replied, stating the last part a little quieter to herself. Jess shot her friend a puzzled expression, which was waved off the next moment.

Cece turned around with Jess as they both looped arms to walk together. The model brunette smiled cheekily at Jess as pain filled her face. "Hippy boy, 12:00."

"Don't remind me. This school should not be this small." Jess replied as they walked toward Nick catching their eyes.

"Jessica, Cece." He greeted the two of them with a grin. "Always good to see two beauties."

Cece chuckled in amusement as Jess muttered, "yeah yeah" and huffed up a storm. "Always good to see a guy rocking some vintage khakis."

"Always gotta bring style back." He winked, gesturing his infamous airguns. Jess slapped herself in the face.

"Are you done here?" Jess announced, resting a hand on her hip. Nick nodded his head slowly, a confused expression filling his face as the brunette flipped her hair, dragging Cece away with her.

What had gotten into her?

Cece forced the girl to loosen her grip. "Okay, okay. Why are you being-"

"I'm not acting any type of way, I'm fine. Everything is great." She cut her friend off, eyes looking everywhere but Cece's.

Her friend frowned. "Okay everything isn't great. Why are you lying? I'm in the school for like two seconds..."

Jess sighed and scratched the back of her neck. "I don't honestly know, okay? He was telling me how glamorous you are last period, so I guess it was just a little..."

"Weird?"

Jessica laughed awkwardly and and threw her hand up to slap the air. "Weird? There's nothing weird about it at all. He just sounded all goofball over a pretty girl."

"You know Jess, you can be so clueless sometimes." Cece shook her head, taking her arm as they walked to lunch. Jess grumbled some objections to herself, but didn't have much to say once they approached the cafeteria.

Later, the writer sat at his desk intently staring at his work. Tapping a pencil against his temple, he murmured some words out loud. "Risks everything... To feel something."

Nick waited a few moments before writing down some words. "'Ah-don't' Pepperwood hesitated,'" wow, writing scenes in a fish morgue was harder than he thought. He should throw the iconic Jessica Knight in to save him.

She was like his sidekick. A good friend.

Was Jessica Day the same way?

He contemplated testing that theory. Nick stared up from his work and scratched the top of his forehead, momentarily deep in thought. A smile aligned his face, eyes reverting back to the typewriter.

And so that theory shall be tested.

Hopefully he'll still be alive to see the results.

* * *

That night, Jess laid in her bed, all snug and wrapped in her comforter like a cocoon. The only sound in the air was the murmuring of crickets and the blow of the wind. The corners of her lips were turned, signifying the quality of her deep slumber. She was certain to wake up in the best mood that coming morning. Not a disturbance in sight was to disrupt such a wonderful night's sleep.

Yeah, okay.

In the midst of her deep breathing, a small piece of paper fell on to her face. Her nose slightly crinkled, but her eyes remained shut.

And another.

A little more aggressive this time.

Her eyebrows furrowed, eyes slowly opening to reveal several crumpled notes in her view. What the hell? Jessica sat up, smoothing out her bed hair as she opened the notes that read the following:

 **hey Day**

 **so this isn't normal but**

 **i need your help and also its kind of hard to write while standing on your shrub**

 **ok so plz come out bc im gonna fal_**

Jessica's confusion from the notes led her to standing up and walking over to her window. And low and behold, there was Nick. On the ground.

"Nick." She breathed in, trying to gather any patience she had. "It's about," Jess raised the watch on her wrist. " _Three_ in the morning. What could you possibly be thinking?"

Nick smiled sheepishly, his hands gesturing for her to come outside. Jessica shook her head incredulously as she slipped on her slippers and robe.

Tiptoeing down the stairs, Jessica cautiously made sure not to wake up anyone in the house. Sure, her sister would be impressed, but Jess would have to face serious consequences with her parents at the same time.

She opened the door to reveal the boy standing below the stairs. "Can you do me a favor?" He whispered.

"I'd love to scream at you right now, however, I don't feel like getting grounded today." Jessica crossed her arms as she leaned against the door frame. "What is it?"

"Okay, well," He began, choosing his words carefully. "My typewriter ran out of black ink, and normally I'd get it myself, but I don't have a car. And I don't like night driving alone in the middle of the night, so..." Nick smiled with hope. The brunette frowned.

"And you couldn't ask me this per say, _after_ school _tomorrow_?"

Nick waved off her comment as if it wasn't an option. What planet did this boy come from? "Listen. The art supply shop is open 24 hours."

Jess arched up a brow. "What art supply shop?"

The boy blushed again, probably afraid of being murdered by a girl who wore sundresses and sang to herself. "Yeah, well, you see, it's a little far. A half hour drive."

"Are you nuts?"

As Jess was about to slam the door-close the door, parents are still sleeping!- in his face, Nick held the door before she could do so. "Please Jess. I only get my best thinking done this time of night. Plus, you can read another chapter in my book." He added, groaning at his last sentence.

Jess thought for a moment. It wasn't a horrible option, and what was one night gonna hurt? Plus, it _was_ her senior year, and Cece had mentioned for her to be a little more open about things. Why not.

"Get in the car, I'll be right there." She rolled her eyes as Nick smiled widely, walking over to the car parked in the driveway. As she grabbed her coat, she murmured, "is this Paper Towns?".

And so they were on the road. Jess decided to stop for a coffee run so neither would fall asleep-especially driving 60 on a highway-. "You know you owe me." She remarked, yawning as blinked herself awake. Nick held her iced coffee up, Jess taking a sip out of the straw before he set it down.

"I already told you Day, I'll have you read my chapter tomorrow." Nick replied, watching the empty roads in front of them. Jess sat back and rolled her shoulders to stretch.

"Well, they better be good ones that'll make worth while." She squinted her eyes at the sign they were approaching from a distance. "What does that sign say? How many until exit 24A?"

As they drove closer, Nick caught a glimpse of the sign. "Ten more exits." Jess groaned as she continued driving, some soft music playing on the radio. Knowing this girl just three months, Nick didn't expect her to do what she did tonight. They really were only on a post-it-note basis. Besides their little hang outs in school, that's as close as they really got.

That's excluding their texts and conversations in their class together.

Although neither realized it, they were kind of close to best friends. They texted nearly everyday, though neither thought of it as a big deal.

Not even full on conversations. Just small updates throughout their day.

 _ **its raining today wtf**_

 _actually thats a good thing considering we've been in a drought dumbass_

 _ **u right**_

Nick smiled at the thought of their texts as he didn't realize he'd been staring at her. Jess caught his eye and smiled quizzically. "Trying to burn a hole in my head?"

"Nah, you're already too much of a hot head."

"I will turn this car around, smartass."

He smirked amusingly as her eyes reverted back to the road. What else could test her patience at this beautiful time of night? Scratch that, morning?

Nick's hand reached for the radio button and cranked it, switching between stations. From the corner of his eye, he could see Jess's reactions.

She was trying not to kill him. She already half regretted driving this idiot to his supply store-who knows if its for writing? He could be getting drugs for all she knew-. Never mind the fact that it was currently 3:45AM and her patience was running dangerously low. But she swore to god, if he continued switching stations, she was gonna ring his neck-

Jessica grabbed his hand mid crank, narrowing her eyes at Nick. "Either choose a station now, or use my AUX. Unless you want to live to write another chapter, I reckon you choose wisely." His eyes danced with mirth as a smile aligned his lips. Noticing his amusement, she shot him a questioning, but dark expression. "What?"

"You said reckon."

"And?"

"I haven't heard that word since _The Crucible_ by Arthur Miller." Nick stated. Jess furrowed her brows and turned her attention more so on the road. This boy was so incredibly random it actually gave her headaches. Did this store sell Advil too?

They finally reached the exit. Jess sighed inwardly with relief. Finally, in no time will she able to get out of the car and breathe air that was not shared with the hippy. Frankly, after a 45 minute drive, Jessica didn't know if she hated this boy even more than before.

When she reached the parking lot, Nick's face lit up with happiness. If he was a dog, he'd be wagging his tail wildly with his tongue out of his mouth. "We're here." Jess announced with fake enthusiasm, setting the car into park. He opened his door and held his hands up.

"Finally." Nick smiled, forming his two fingers into a peace sign as he kissed and raised them into the air. Jess gave him a puzzled expression as he did this. Nick met her eyes and grabbed her hand, suddenly dragging her inside.

Oh joy.

Nick opened the door to his own wonderland, shelves filled with paper sheets and various sharpie colors. This definitely wasn't like staples. First off, this place was in the middle of basically nowhere. Jess was beginning to wonder if he buys his Ganga here.

The clerk looked up and immediately smiled. "Nicholas Miller, is that you?"

He smiled proudly and stretched his arms out. "Sure is. Hey Rodger." The clerk excitedly walked up to him as they shared a moment of hellos and how are yous.

"How are things going? It's been a while since you've came here."

Nick shrugged as his hands rested in his pockets. "Finally running low on inventory. Decided I needed to stock up for the winter."

"You've made the right choice, pal." The man patted his back with a hoarse laugh. Rodger's eyes traveled from Nick's to Jessica's. "And who might you be, sweetheart?"

"A friend. Jessica Day." Jess replied, shaking the man's hand. He raised his brows and glanced back at the hippy.

"You sure know how to pick 'em." He patted Nick's back again a little harder this time as they walked together down an aisle. Jess awkwardly stood at the counter, glancing around the room. Nick wasn't exaggerating; Jess was pretty sure that there was more than enough here to stock him for not only the winter, but all four seasons entirely. A smile formed her face as she began to curiously walk down some of the aisles.

Sure, there were old fashioned typewriters, paper, ink, and other writing accessories, but there was also this vintage vibe. This very Nick-like-vibe. The smell of books and wood filled the warehouse-like-store. Old antiques like grandfather clocks rested against the walls; English Porcelain resting on shelves as well as antique bottles.

Jess's eyes examined the shelves as she picked up one of the teacups. "Wow." She whispered to herself, her fingers lightly tracing the patterns.

"...Ain't that right, Jess?" A voice called from behind, causing the brunette to wince. The tea cup flew into the air, her eyes widening. Nick ran over alarmingly, the two catching it at the same time. Jess noticed their hands entwined together with the cup in the middle, and immediately broke their contact. Her hands drifted away, her grip still on the cup. "Thanks." She said quieter, placing it back onto the shelf.

Nick nodded as Jess fought the blush attempting to form her cheeks. "No sweat. Curious, are we?"

"I guess the cup was about to be the cat." Jessica sheepishly commented. Nick gave her a blank look. She frowned. "That was a stupid joke."

"I get it, but, no." He shook his head. She rolled her eyes, her vision landing on the basket that he held on his forearm.

She had to say, she was surprised. "You weren't exaggerating. That is a crap ton of supplies."

"Always gotta have my necessities in check." Nick replied, eyes lingering on hers. Jessica nodded understandingly, clearing her throat.

"Ready to check out?"

* * *

45 minutes later, they were finally back. Jessica pulled into Nick's driveway, yawning as she put the car in park. She read her watch and miserably sat back in her seat. "So much for a good night's sleep."

"You can always skip first period."

"And miss seeing your face? I could never." Jessica faked a longing stare and tone, bringing a smile to the boy's face. They sat in silence for a minute or two, probably because they were both exhausted. Nick opened the car door and grabbed his shopping bags. As he stood out of the car, he closed the door and walked around so he was in front of her window.

Jess rolled it down questioningly. "Lose something?"

Nick smiled again, shaking his head. "No, Day. I just wanted to say thank you for doing this for me. It's not like anyone would just drive 45 minutes in the middle of the night."

Jess's heart jumped a little in her chest at his appreciation. "Yeah well, it's what I do. What can I say?" She half quipped, speaking like it was no big deal. "Although, I can't make promises for the next trip. I am one for fond memories, but gas money is a thing, too."

He nodded. "Still, though. I just want you to know that I appreciated it. And, well, you."

The girl swallowed as she struggled to hold their eye contact. "Thank you." She pressed her lips in an awkward smile line. "You too."

"Goodnight, Day."

"Goodnight, Pepperwood."

She watched as Nick turned around, amusement sparkling in his brown eyes. He turned and walked into his house, Jess sighing to herself. He made her feel the most weirdest emotions. Sitting back in her seat, Jessica closed her eyes momentarily to catch a breath. Opening them, she stretched her arms out as she fixed her gear into reverse. Before she moved, she noticed a post it note left on the passenger seat. The girl pressed her foot onto the break as she opened up the note in front of her.

 **to late night drives and _driving_ you insane. goodnight, Day.**

Jessica chuckled to herself as she set down the note, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. He was a headache and a head rush all at once.

* * *

 **hope this long one makes up for my lack of updates. enjoy xxx**

 **review, favorite and follow, my lovelies.**

 **-Calista**


	7. Chapter 7

If there was a moment that one could pin-point the feeling of walking on clouds, this would be just the one. Jess floated into school with a dazed expression written on her face, reaching her locker. Jessica yawned as she grabbed the books she probably wasn't going to write in. Memories from the early morning filled her mind as she grabbed a drawing notebook for her art class. She stared at the book and smiled, flashing back to the events prior to school: the late night drive, the notes flying onto her bed (okay, maybe that one was creepy), and the appreciation Nick declared to her. As tired as the brunette felt, she still couldn't help but smile. The boy was so strange, but it never ceased to amaze her [while annoying her all at once].

"What's got you so happy?" A voice called from behind her. The brunette turned around to reveal a familiar, confused yet smiling face: Ally. Jess shrugged in response as she closed her locker door, holding her books against her chest.

Jessica smiled at her friend and into the distance before murmuring the words, "Post-it notes." Ally gave her an odd look before waving her hand in front of Jessica's face, which didn't looked fazed in the slighest.

"If it's not weed, it's gotta be something." Ally raised her brows as she stepped back to look at the distracted quirky brunette. Still, no words came from Jess's mouth. Figuring the silence was gonna conclude this situation, Ally simply nodded. "I'm gonna go now. Kay..?" Still nothing. Ally backed away until she turned around, completely finishing herself from this conversation-or perhaps, whatever it really was to begin with.

Jess floated into the classroom, her eyes making subtle contact with the Miller boy that sat behind her as usual. She merely stopped in her place at the sight of him, but continued casually as she cleared her throat, sitting down in her seat as her skirt swished by her swift movements.

"Hey, Day..." She heard from behind her. Jess turned around and gave Miller her best curious, yet captivating expression. Awaiting his answer, she noticed his eyes glancing down her body. She felt her cheeks heat up as his eyes quickly traveled back to her face. Before Jess could reprimand him about her eyes being up here, he spoke first. "Are those raining cats and dogs on your skirt?" He wondered, glancing intently at the design. Jess's face fell as she cleared her throat, trying to think of a response. Unfortunately, no words came to mind.

With a defeated sigh, the girl nodded as she whipped her head back around; hair gliding over her chair as she picked up her pencil to work.

And right on time: the flying note. She casually, but internally urgently picked up the note that rested down on her desk. Smoothing it out, Jessica read the following carefully.

 **Look under your chair.**

Resting down the note, she then heard the noise of kicking beneath her desk. Jessica glanced over to the teacher carefully before bending down and subtly picking up the staples sheets of paper. Jess paused and also took notice of her math notebook next to her, sitting untouched. Her eyes drifted back to the chapter, her mind silently debating.

 _Okay, well this is more important. Math can wait._

And with that, she flipped to the first page of her awaited chapter and began to read.

So much for math.

Her eyes scanned down the page as she read the words intently. Was she gonna finally know the name of the female protagonist? Jessica tapped her fingers lightly on the desk as she read, also being careful to look for a name she didn't recognize-preferably with the last name _Knight._ That would be great.

A few minutes later, Jessica was in the middle of reading the words **Pepperwood turned to his one and only sidekick-**

The brunette smiled happily as she flipped the page to reveal-

 **_ Knight.**

Huffing and and resting her forehead against her palm, she cried in her thoughts. _Are you kidding?_ Jess whipped her head around and glared at the boy who's eyes were on his math work. He was actually concentrating?

" _Miller."_ Jessica hissed, too loud for her own liking. The teacher paused and rested her hands on her hips.

"Would you like to share something with the class, Ms. Day?"

Eye rolling in response, Jess reverted her attention to her very annoying math teacher. "Not really. There's nothing to share, apparently."

She could hear the boy chuckle from behind her, pressing her lips in a thin line as she tried kicking his leg from behind her.

As the bell rang, Nick rushed to leave the classroom, Jessica right on his tail. Before he could part from the classroom, the girl grabbed his shoulder and made him turn to her. "Seriously? How long does it take for you to come up with a name?"

He had a smirk on his face as she went off on a brief tangent. Noticing his amusement, she helplessly yelled out, "what?"

"Well." Nick began, clearing his throat as his eyes met hers, dancing with entertainment and speaking all matter-of-factly. "I actually do have a name now."

"And?" Jess shook her head, irritation bubbling in her stomach. Nick raised his brows as he moved his face closer to hers. She focused on his eyes, suddenly feeling herself unable to move. His face moved slowly to her ear, his breath tenderly tickling her neck; Jess at a loss of breath.

"Keep reading. You have to earn it, Day-dreamer." His words burned her cheeks as he leaned his face back to a proper proximity.

Flushed and angry, Jessica shook away the electricity still lingering in the air. Not being able to form many words, she blurted the three she could think of. "You're an asshole." Before she turned away, she gave him one last look. "And don't call me that." He shrugged with a smug grin, turning on his feet as he walked down the hall.

The girl leaned against the door frame, sighing to herself as she broke out of the trance he put her in.

 _Snap_

Jessica hit her head against the door and grumbled. "What?" She whipped her head around to Ally's confused face.

"What happened to the happy-daydreaming-Jessica I walked into this morning?" Jessica grimaced at the word daydreaming as she recalled Nick's smug nickname earlier.

"I may have had a moment of weakness." She rolled her eyes, adjusting her backpack strap as she began walking the other way.

Ally smiled cunningly. "It's Nick, isn't it?"

Stopping in her tracks, she felt the urge to hit her head against the door again to double take that question. Or maybe get a concussion. Whatever is better, really.

Turning around, Jess glanced back at her friend, a concentrated look on her face. "What's Nick?"

"You two have been dancing around each other for months. You're thinking about him, aren't you?"

Jess made a disgusted face almost immediately. Deny, deny, deny. "Dancing around each other?" She scoffed with some laughter. "What does that even mean?"

"Your obvious flirting has become even more obvious now. I really shouldn't tell you this, but people are starting to make bets." Ally looked around suspiciously, ending her sentence in a whisper.

She incredulously looked at Ally. "Bets?"

But before she could further her questions, Ally ran down the hallway. "You didn't hear from me!"

Why was her school so weird? Jessica sighed and resumed going her merry way, all while not feeling so merry at all.

Jessica yawned as she dragged her pencil across the paper, attempting at answering a few homework questions as she laid sideways on her bed. Attempting definitely was a key word, because while her mind was occupied on integral equations, she was already stuck on an equation of her own.

Laying down her pencil on her bed, she rubbed her eyes with her hands, feeling exhaustion build on top of her eyelids and weighing down her lashes.

In between drifting off into a nap, she drifted into a trance.

 _"I don't think anyone saw me. It took a lot to get here." A voice began as he turned around to meet eyes with a familiar face. "I hope you know this is risky. There are so many shifty eyes out there."_

 _The woman smiled and walked closer to the man. "We're in a shed in your backyard. You do realize that, don't you?"_

 _"It's still a risk I'm willing to take, Jessica." He gently laid his hands on her shoulders. "Business works on and off the clock. Time could be running out."_

 _She brushed her hair back as looked him deeply in the eyes. "How could time be running out when it stops around you, Pepperwood?" Jessica caressed his cheek with her hand, sighing longingly. "Can't we just have this moment? Here and now?" She added, taking a hold of his hand and pressing a kiss to it. Pepperwood slowly nodded and pulled her into his arms._

 _"We can. And more." He presses his forehead against hers. Jess blushed as she said her next words quietly._

 _"In a shed, Pepperwood? Are you sure about this?"_

 _They both shared a shrug and a laugh before leaning in-_

"Jessica Day!"

The brunette looked up from her pillow, wiping the sleep from her eyes. When did she doze off?

"Hmm?" She replied, as she opened her eyes bigger, vision coming back into focus. Cece was standing near the door frame with a blank expression.

"You take naps now? I swear, I've never seen _the_ Jessica Day stop to actually take a nap."

Jessica rolled her eyes as she sat up, stretching her arms out in front of her chest. "You've never seen Jessica Day deal with Nick Miller for a whole day. I get tired because of his lack of intelligence."

"Unless..." Cece tapped her finger against her chin, a smile forming on her lips. "Someone didn't get enough sleep last night. Sleepwalk much?"

Her cheeks brightened pink.

"... and she isn't denying it. Where did you go last night?"

Jessica gathered her hair up with her hand as she got up to face her mirror, grabbing a hair tie "Nowhere important!" She shut down, shaking her head. "Just out. I couldn't sleep."

"Does out have a name?" Jessica met eyes with Cece, raising a puzzling brow. Chuckling and shaking her head, Cece sighed. "I heard you talking to someone. You know I'm a light sleeper."

"Last time I checked, you're dead to the world whenever your head hits a pillow."

"I had to pee!" Cece said defensively, waving it off casually. Jess shifted uncomfortably as Cece waited for her friend to reply.

"Look, you can tell me, you know. I'm not Abby-"

"Okay, fine." Jess closed her eyes and taking a breath. "Nick needed me, and-" She noticed her friend's smirk raise as she spoke, making her mouth droop into a frown. "He just needed some art supplies."

"And he needed you for that? At 3am?" Cece questioned, raising her brows further, growing interested in the details. "Interesting."

Jess shook her head as she walked over to her dresser, sitting down at the chair resting in front of it. She simply replied, "It's not that interesting."

Cece tilted her head curiously. "And why's that?"

She looked up from her dresser, making a face in the mirror. "I feel like I'm getting the third degree. Can you cool it with the questioning?" Cece opened her mouth again, but closed it as she nodded in understanding.

"Got it." Jess returned to looking into her dresser mirror, ruffling her hair slightly. Honestly, she still hadn't taken the time to catch a breath or a thought about what was going on between her and the boy. What were they doing? Were they just friends that randomly go out in the middle of the night? Friends who shared stories and teasing conversations with a pinch of harmless flirting?

"Now, uh, what should I go for? A half up, half down look? Or is that not chic enough for where we're going tonight."

Or was it actually causing more harm than good and she didn't know it?

"We're going out tonight?" Cece asked, her tone sparking interest and excitement. A smile flashed to Jess's face as she spun around in her chair to her friend.

"Yeah. What's a night out on the boulevard gonna hurt? I can't wait to see what's there for us tonight." She spun back around, grabbing a makeup brush off her counter. Cece smiled as well, joining her friend in the mirror as she pulled out a tube of lipstick.

"Yeah. And who."

* * *

"This was a good idea, Day." The model brunette remarked as they walked down Hollywood Boulevard. "It's not every day where I can look up and down the street at two super cool things. An outside fair _and_ the Walk of Fame?" Jess chuckled as she bumped her friends shoulder.

"You sound like such a tourist." She remarked as Cece shrugged as she lifted her drink to her lips, sipping through the straw playfully.

"Don't blow my cover, girl. You're more prone to get free shit." She giggled. Jess rolled her eyes, to which she replied, "and cause people to advertise stupid products around us."

"Free samples, Jess. That's what its all about."

Jess glanced at her friend and then at her cup. "If I really knew you right now, I'd also know that _that_ isn't just lemonade." Cece flashed her a knowing look, a lingering smile on her lips.

"You know how I like to mix and match." She winked, taking another sip as Jess's arm brushed hers, the two walking at a slower pace down the street. Jessica's eyes shifted around the fair, spotting endless amounts of food stands and psychic palm reading tables. Chatter, dancing and music filled the streets of Hollywood as Jess observed the bright colors and music.

"This really isn't New York. Though it has the potential." A voice spoke from behind the two.

Jess whipped her head around, hair dancing over her shoulders as she spotted familiar brown eyes. A smiling Ally. Jess smiled back and greeted her. "Hey! Didn't expect you to be here." Jess gestured to Cece. "This is Cece. She's staying here for a while. Cece, this is Ally."

"Charmed." Cece smiled drunkenly, taking Ally's hand and lifting it, twirling the girl around. Ally gave her a confused smile as Cece giggled to herself.

"Don't mind her." Jess half whispered. "It was a long trip here."

"You know Ally? You're so right. This isn't New York." Cece shook her head up and down quickly, furrowing her brows. "If it was, it'd be awake every night. LA has made me a little sleepy, if I'm honest."

Ally nodded slowly in what appeared to be agreement but slight confusion, eyes lingering on Jess's.

"Well isn't it so nice that you traveled all the way here to see your friend?" Cece crinkled her eyes mockingly, a smirk glued to her face.

"I guess it is. However, there's been this really weird smell that's been polluting the air around here. You see, New York has restrictions on the use of marijuana."

Ally smiled, tilting her head slightly. "Yeah, well I think marijuana is a good thing for New Yorkers. Keeps them from being so uptight all the time, you know?" Cece's smile dropped as Ally stepped closer to the model, shrugging innocently. Jess felt like walking out of this conversation until she was back home in the safety of her bed.

"Well," Ally continued, ignoring Cece's death glare. "I'll see you both at school." She looked at Cece once more, a cheeky smile glued to her face. "If you ever come back to visit, of course. Nice meeting you!" Ally replied, dismissing the conversation as she waved, walking away to meet her other friend's. Jess turned back to her friend, a hard frown dragging her face.

Cece huffed and shook her head. "You know, I thought all Californians were supposed to be nice. I guess they had room for bitches."

"Cece, where the hell did that come from?" Jess furrowed her brows, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"No, enough about me." The brunette replied, waving it off. "I can only handle one hazing at a time. _We_ need to find your boy toy. Where is he, anyway?" She placed her hand on her forehead as if emphasizing her search.

"He's probably not here." Jess replied in annoyance, taking a bacon-roll-up from a serving plate. But of course, she spoke too soon. Cece noticed her friend's lingering stared, and joined to see what she was looking at. Or, _who_ , rather.

"Now," Cece started again, a smile welcoming her lips. "That is a good _hunk_ a' boy." Jess looked at her friend in annoyance, but glanced back to really take a look at the boy.

He was no longer wearing his hippy attire- _oh_ no. Dare she say, he looked absolutely fine. Nick must've found that there was more to his closet than bell-bottom pants and plant t-shirts. A black leather jacket hugged and shaped his torso and arms. Between the unzipped jacket revealed a dark red shirt and regular blue jeans. He was borderline-aesthetic. She felt a flutter in her chest as she whipped around, smoothing out her brunette locks. Distracting herself from the situation at hand, she huffed in annoyance. "Cece, you're drunk. Why did you drink so much?"

Cece blinked a couple of times, suddenly looking at everywhere but Jess. She noticed the weirdness in her friend and was about to ask further, when she suddenly smelled a familiar cologne from behind her.

"Didn't expect to see _you_ here." Nick smiled as Jess turned to the voice, raising her brows. _Play it cool Jess, this is your weird hippy friend who sits behind you everyday._

"Hard to believe that I have fun outside of school? Nick gave her a knowing look and crossed his arms.

"Jess, you hum show tunes in the hallway and wear skirts with animals on them. I believe that you'd have more fun by writing songs in your house-alone."

Jessica frowned and narrowed her eyes at the boy. "Well, clearly I've proved you wrong."

"Not necessarily. I still think you'd rather be making songs right now with a plate of nachos." Jess fought a potential smile as she took another bacon-roll-up. She picked another up and held it in front of Nick's face.

"Stuff your face, Miller." Jess shook it in front of him, Nick eventually taking it and eating it. Shrugging, he set down the toothpick, mumbling that he's made better.

Before their conversation went further, Jessica was interrupted by the sounds of cheering and laughing from behind her. Nick's brows raised as his lips parted. Confused, Jess turned around and saw Cece.

Dancing on a table. She was moving her hips from side to side as she danced around in a circle. "To senior year, bitches!" She yelled, making everyone raise their drinks and cheer as she took a shot. _Breathe Jess, breathe._ Jess moved closer to the table and looked up at her friend. "Cece, get down from there!" Some people holding drinks gathered close to the obliterated girl; some cheering, and some sharing puzzled expressions.

" _Who is that?"_

 _"Does she even go here?"_

"Quite the scene." Nick murmured from behind her. Jess shook her head as she grabbed her friend's arm. Cece sighed exasperatingly as she jumped down from the table, Jess dragging her to a corner of the room.

"Cece. What. The hell, is your problem? This isn't like you. Trust me, if you wanted to get drunk on dance on tables, we could've easily done it at my place." She trailed off, resting her hands on her hips.

Cece furrowed her brows and waved her off. "Of course this is me. Models are only supposed to smile, have fun, and look pretty, and I sure as hell don't need to explain myself to you." Cece drunkenly replied, rubbing her forehead. Jess raised her brows and stared at her friend, beginning to see pain fill her eyes.

"Cece, don't say that about yourself. You're the most confident person I know. Why would you-"

"Because Jess. Because." Cece blurted, her hands wiping some tears beneath her eyes. "I lost the internship, okay? I lost it."

Jess's lips parted in surprise. "What?"

She took a couple of breaths and shook her head. "Look, I just need some air." Cece dismissed as she walked toward the door, opening and shutting it behind her. Jess followed her and stopped when she saw Cece leaning against the frame on the outside, covering her face with her hands.

Jess sighed and sat down on the love seat near the door, closing her eyes to calm her nerves.

"Is she okay?"

She paused and looked up, sniffing as she opened her eyes. "Yeah, she's going to be fine. She needed fresh air." Jess shrugged, gaze lingering on her friend as she rested her hands on her thighs. "It's been quite the night."

Nick's hands slipped out of his jean pockets as he tilted his head, wanting to comfort the girl in some way. He noticed her concerned look on her friend, knowing she wanted to step in and help her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Jess's gaze went from Cece to Nick as she slumped her shoulders up and down. He took her silence as an answer and carefully sat down next to her, not too close, not too far. She noticed his presence sitting next to her as her eyes remained down. "You know, when Cece first came back, I thought it would be just like before. We'd have the same humor and the same thoughts. But honestly, I don't think that she's the same Cece I waved goodbye to at the airport."

Nick nodded as she clasped her hands together. "And tonight... I've never seen her that way. We've gotten drunk and stupid together, but this Cece was drinking to get away from something." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her face deep in thought. "I guess New York isn't completely what she thought it'd be."

There was silence after a while. Nick dropped his head momentarily, trying to think of what he could possibly offer this girl. He turned his head to her after a moment, shrugging. "Are you the same Jess she saw through those airport windows?"

She stood still for a minute, thinking about it. Months before senior year, Jess never sought to have any crazy adventures. She was gonna stay completely and utterly focused on work without any distractions in her way. And to never have any secrets from her best friend. Especially about a boy.

And well, here she was.

"No." Jess shook her head. "I suppose not." She pressed her lips together, sighing inwardly as her chest grew heavy. "Does that make me a bad person?" She wondered out loud, mostly to herself.

Nick shook his head, almost chuckling to himself. "Jessica Day. Lacking focus in her math class? Yes." She narrowed her eyes at him. "But a bad person? No. No, that's not you. You're probably the most... not-bad person I know." He added, a half smile on his face.

She smiled as met the boy's eyes, lingering her gaze for a moment that felt too long. Nick noticed a strand of hair right next to her eye, and felt an urge to caress it behind her ear. So why shouldn't he just do it? How would she react? He felt his muscles tense as he found his hand rising up to move toward her face, watching Jess's eyes.

Jess watched the reluctance in his action, her lips parting as his hand lightly brushed her temple, feeling electricity surge down her spine as his hand softly grazed her skin.

"Jess, can we talk for a minute?" The door flew open as Cece exclaimed, eyes set on the two. Jess, taken aback and a little dazed, moved herself away from Nick almost immediately as she stood up and faced her friend.

She nodded as they both went outside, Jess catching Nick's gaze once more before they closed the door behind them.

The two sat on the first step of the stairs as Cece explained what really happened behind the story of losing the internship. Jess watched as her friend took a reluctant breath, and slowly began.

"The internship was fun at first. It felt nice knowing i had a professional job in the city. That I'd left everything behind for such a mature step in the right path." She paused, eyes focused on the steps beneath them. "Well, not fun. They really just had me do a bunch of coffee runs and printing."

"Printing?"

Cece sighed, setting down her beer beside her. "They had me edit first. It's the price I paid for mentioning my computer experience with excel and all that crap. They had me edit all the models they took pictures of. Enhance their boobs, curve their waists, add all the magic of pure Photoshop. Guess you could say that they were a pretty _generous_ internship having me edit and all. It was fine at first. I knew it was gonna be a while before I could actually become a model."

Jess offered her a water bottle which Cece gladly accepted. "Hydrate."

"And so um, a month or two later I asked about what I could do in order to take bigger strides toward modeling." Her gaze lingered behind Jess, sighing inwardly. "They told me I had to _earn it."_ Cece's face hardened, swallowing uncomfortably as her eyes met Jess's again. "I didn't realize how naive I was until I was alone in my boss's office. He said ' _this is what models do_ ' and that this was my golden ticket to earn it." Jess gaped at her friend, eyebrows aligning in concern. "But," she caught her breath and shook her head. "I didn't let him do anything. I stormed out before he could touch me."

"Cece..." She put her hand on Cece's arm. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Cece straightened her posture as she finished the remains of her water bottle. "I didn't want you to worry about me. You always see me as strong and I believed that I _was_ because of you. And I handled it myself. But doing so is what cost me the internship."

Jess nodded, feeling her chest heavy again. "I can't lie and say it didn't mess me up somewhat psychologically. I guess there's some part of me that believes I wasn't worth it from the start. And that the only way to really make it into the modeling business was..." She trailed off. Jessica shook her head and covered Cece's hand with hers.

"No. There's no way in hell that's true. That isn't who you are and it wouldn't be. I know you." Jessica defended, shaking her head as she got Cece's full attention. A smile formed her friends face in response, eyes lightening with gratitude. They both leaned in and hugged one another.

"Let's go grab our stuff and get out of here." Cece stated as she stood up, a smiling Jess joining her as she tugged on her jacket.

"You're right." She said, flipping her hair out from under her jacket. "Let's." As she held her arm out to have Cece link it, Cece crossed her arms questionably.

"Aren't you gonna say goodbye to someone?" Cece smirked, her attention turning to the boy as she briefly opened the door. Quickly and without hesitation, Jess shut it in a swift movement and shook her head.

"No need. I think I've had enough of this party." She turned back toward the stairs. Cece skeptically stood by the door in her place as her gaze remained settled on her friend.

"Have you, though? You two looked pretty cozy when I-"

Jess slammed a hand over her friend's mouth. "No. That never happened. Alcohol is a very stupid influence."

"ifwasdethinitleeworezenzheakahol" Cece replied while the hand rested on her mouth. Jess huffed and removed her hand. "Okay, in English. It was definitely more than the alcohol. Haven't you noticed the little dance you two have been leading?"

"What dance? Cece, is this beer talk?"

Cece lowered her head and gave her a look that read, " _really?"_ without any verbal explanation. "The one where you guys are doing middle school dance rules and you're spinning on your tap shoes trying to figure out your feelings."

Jess narrowed her eyes at her friend while crossing her arms. "Okay, seriously? A dance? Why does it have to be a _dance?_ We're not dancing around each other. We're not doing the tango in the school hallway. There is no choreography being done in any place, any _where."_ She waved her hands dismissively, causing Cece to chuckle.

"Alright alright, don't break a sweat, Day. Whatever you say." She shook her head, linking arms with Jessica. As they began walking down the stairs, arm in arm, the girl still couldn't help but glance from the corner of her eye. In her field of vision, she saw a specific boy leaning his elbow against the door frame. Jess felt Cece's knowing eyes on her and blushed uncontrollably.

"Shut up." She muttered as they bumped hips, walking side by side. After a while, Jess felt something dragging under her feet and stopped in her tracks. Lifting her leg to view the bottom of her shoe, she raised her brows. No. How?

She peeled a small sticky note off her heel, unfolding and reading it carefully.

 **A chapter a day keeps a Jess at bay. Till tomorrow, Day-dreamer. x**

Hearing a stifled laugh next to her, she felt her cheeks heat up as she bit back a smile, covering it with an awkward frown.

" _Mother f-_ "

* * *

 **OKAY OKAY i know its been wayyyyy too long. BUT I'm back. I've been revising this for wayy too long and being wayyy too picky. I hope 5k words can satisfy until I post next time. I hope yall liked this one :)**

 **-Calista**


	8. Chapter 8

A pillow was thrown onto Cece's head, jolting her awake almost immediately. As she gained full consciousness, the model frowned at her friend and threw the pillow back more aggressively.

And smacked Jess square in the face.

"Cece. We're going to be late. Am I gonna have to haul your ass to school?" Jess exclaimed, kicking the pillow over to her bed as she slid her backpack strap over her shoulder. Cece sat up and immediately felt her head pound against her temples. She lifted her hands up to rub them as her elbows rested on her thighs.

"No." She replied, bowing her head down. "That's my job, babe." Jess watched as her friend struggled to stand up and gather an outfit together, walking staggered over to a dresser.

Tisk-tisk. She shook her head. "I would have made you a care package for the morning, but that was about three alarms ago." Jess walked forward and opened her palm, revealing two Advils. "Thought you could use this." She added as Cece gladly accepted them, grabbing a water bottle in another hand.

"We could have skipped today, you know. Why don't we? It's not like I go there." Cece replied, leaning against the dresser drawer. She popped the Advil into her mouth and swigged down the bottle. She immediately spat it out and threw the bottle down as if it caught fire. "Oh god, oh no no _no."_

Jess's eyes widened at her sudden actions, blurting out an alarmed, "What?" Cece wiped her mouth and sniffed roughly through her nose.

"That bottle had vodka in it. God, I'm gonna be drunk before school."

Jessica refrained from slapping herself in the face. "You my friend, are not the brightest person I know." She bent down below her dresser and tossed Cece a full unopened bottle. She grabbed it and chucked the top off before drowning herself in water.

"Anyway, we can't." Jess shook her head dismissively. "I have like three exams today, and now knowing what you told me yesterday, you might actually need to come back to school." She grabbed Cece's backpack off the chair, throwing some books inside before zippering it up. Cece turned to her friend and arched her brow quizzically.

"I probably wouldn't be able to, Jess. I've missed way too much." The girl shrugged, moving her bag aside. "I mean, I'm not really sure what I want to do exactly."

Jessica smiled, giving her friend a confused expression. "You can't just _not_ finish school... Can you?"

Cece looked down at her feet, pursing her lips knowingly. "It is possible. I've looked into it before." Jess sighed and grabbed Cece's bag back, trying to hand it to her. "No, Jess, I'm serious. I really think I could make it in the modeling business without that sleaze I called a boss. Some of the workers there even said I have potential."

Jess bit the inside of her top lip, refusing to say more, although she wanted to so very bad. Cece picked up on it and sighed in defeat. "Okay, say what you're going to say." The brunette closed her eyes tightly and opened her mouth. Three, two, one...

"I don't want you to throw away your life and most utter potential with inconsistent modeling jobs." Jessica blurted out before her thoughts could fully register. She and Cece shared a lingering stare for a few moments; Cece nodding her head slowly as Jess pondered whether she was on her hit list yet.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

Cece slid on her v-neck and nodded again. "Yeah." Jessica eyed her suspiciously as Cece's jeans tugged up her thighs. "I heard you."

Relief washed across Jess's face. "So you're not going to drop out? Her friend smiled at a hopeful Jessica, and answered in the best way she knew.

"I am." Jess closed her eyes. "No, no, no, no, listen. I want you to be okay with this. This is my life and this is who I am right now. And if it's a mistake, it's going to be _my_ mistake, okay?"

Jess paused for a moment, and then opened her eyes to her best friend. As much as she wanted things to go back to where they once were; the two dominating the halls and sneaking into the bathrooms between classes to smoke [well, only Cece], she realized it wasn't going to happen. However, she had to be okay with it. Maybe Cece was right. Maybe it was time she put more faith into her best friend. She'd never tell Cece this, but Jess understood how stubborn she could be from time to time [not all the time, geez, give her more credit.] and, well, it was about time she looked at things with an open mind.

"Maybe you're right."

" _Really_." Cece replied, a smile curving her lips. Jess rolled her eyes, but shrugged shyly.

"Well, I don't know. Maybe life has steered me into a better direction, or, whatever." Jess waved off in an attempt to dismiss their conversation. Cece arched a brow, suddenly more interested in the conversation Jess wasn't intending on having.

"Oh? Life has?" Her friend pushed, her smile forming into a smirk. "Or has some _one_?"

Jess narrowed her eyes at Cece, understanding where she was getting at. _Oh hell no._ "Your head is in the clouds, Cecilia."

"No, no, no, no, Jess. Admit something to me." Before Jess could utter another word, Cece raised her hand in front of the girl's face. "Admit that you've changed since you've met him."

Jess shook her head in denial. "Cece, I think I've changed a lot without his help. You of all people should know that we don't need men to change us."

Cece shook her head in agreement, resting her chin on her palm. "True, true. But, Jess, and now, don't kill me over this. But you have to admit. He's brought something out in you."

"Yeah." Jess scoffed. "When pigs fly, ya' weirdo." She hopped off her bed and threw her hair up into a ponytail. Cece raised her brows and shook her head to herself.

" _I hope they can bring some better comebacks on their way here!_ " Jessica heard her friend shout from the bathroom, refraining a sigh as she splashed water onto her face.

* * *

The brunette walked down the long narrow halls of the school, her heart almost speeding up when seeing a boy that almost remotely looked like- _no. Enough. This craziness must end._ Jess stopped in her tracks and slammed her back into a locker, leaning her head back as she held a hand against her chest.

"Performing the pledge of allegiance? You know that only happens for about thirty seconds at 8am, right?" She flinched, banging her head against the locker in the process. Clenching her teeth, she turned her attention over to Nicholas freaking Miller. The guy that makes her want to rip all of her hair out. And the guy she almost kissed. How does this make sense again?

Right.

It doesn't.

" _Must_ you sneak up on me like this?"

Nick flashed a smile as Jessica rubbed the back of her head. "Hows Day doing on this glorious day?" She narrowed her eyes at his wit. He looked about ready to laugh at his own joke.

Her eyes shifted to his mouth before his eyes again. "What's so glorious about it?" Attempting to anticipate his next response, she stood and waited with determination. Instead, Nick took a step closer to her, minimizing the distance.

"I think I'm reaching a break through in my chapters. I would show you, but, I'd be getting ahead of myself." Jess resisted the urge to whine in protest. She couldn't help her inner nerd.

"I'm surprised you haven't finished it yet. With all those supplies that'll last you through the winter, and all."

He noticed her quip and shrugged his shoulders. "Even writers need to hibernate."

Jessica tilted her head curiously. "So you're taking a break?"

Nick opened his mouth and closed it again. "I don't know, Day, am I?"

She breathed air out of her nose, pursing her lips impatiently. "I guess I wouldn't know. Writers are pretty unpredictable."

"That's where you're right. But do you want to know what the best part of my day really is?"

"No."

"I'll tell you." Nick replied, leaning an arm against the locker aside from the one she leaned against. He looked into her eyes and cleared his throat. "Getting to see you, of course. And your little frown and glaring blue eyes."

"I'm sure that's one of your signature boy moves. Making a girl frown _and_ glare. Charming." She scrunched her nose up mockingly.

Nick cracked his knuckles and smiled cunningly. "Only for you."

"Hm. Then I suppose I should feel lucky." Jess took another step closer so they were barely nose to nose. He began to notice her challenge and lowered his face so he was staring directly into her eyes, willing to accept the unspoken competition. The game was beginning to change - Jess could feel it. She could feel it from the heat in her face - or was it his? They were so close. It was too daring. Too easy.

And hell, she was _not_ easy.

He wasn't staring into her eyes anymore, or at least he sort of was. They moved from her eyes to her lips, almost contemplating.

" _BUT_ I don't. Boop." Jess suddenly stepped back a few inches, and _booped_ his nose. Nick stared in a momentary state of confusion as he watched the girl turn and make an immediate run for it. She skipped down the hallway, nearly tripping as she ran into a nearby classroom.

She slapped a hand against her face and groaned. "Why did I have to boop him in the face."

"Whatever that means."

Jess uncovered her face almost immediately and stared at a class of students glancing over at her. The teacher was also smirking, holding a marker in her hand. She smiled lopsidedly at the woman as she proceeded to write on the board. "And that, class, is a great example of hormonal teenagers."

A student spoke up in the midst of the confused middle school students. "What's a _boop_?"

"Aheh." Jess managed a laugh, grabbing the doorknob from behind her and opening the door, swiftly exiting and cursing mentally at herself. God, was this day ever going to end?

This was all Cece's fault. After all, Jess needed someone to blame. If she hadn't asked her that stupid question, making her all distracted with the stupid thoughts of _Nick changed you_ and _Nick influences you_ and _NICK THIS NICK THAT._ She had to remove him from her brain like a magic eraser. Sighing hopelessly, she caught sight of him near another pair of lockers, smiling and talking to some of his classmates.

Was there really a need to remove him from _all_ of her thoughts?

He caught her eye unexpectedly and mouthed the word _boop._ A smile formed on her face as he did this, clasping her hands together.

" _Jessica Day_!" She winced harshly again, nearly toppling over again. "God, what is it with people today?" Jess exasperated and turned to Cec-... Not Cece. Some girl she'd never seen before.

"Woah, don't kill the messenger. Well, the passenger. Wow, horrible jokes, sorry." The blonde began, fixing her words around. "I'm Caroline. I heard you helped guide high school transfer students around school? You give tours?" The blonde smiled hopefully, holding out a friendly hand. Jess smiled back, calming herself down as she shook Caroline's hand.

"Yes I do. Sorry about the outrage. It's been quite the day." She began walking with the blonde down the hallway.

"At only nine in the morning? What goes on at this school?"

The brunette could only smile. "Too much."

By the time lunch rolled around, Jessica lead Caroline into the school cafeteria. She pointed at the various table cliques that were seated separately from one another, to which Caroline nodded her head understandably. Every school had to have them. The ultimate stereotype must live up to its expectations.

"Honestly, there's weird people you'll run into here. And I don't know what school you've come from, but I mean, they're all genuinely strange. And the teachers."

Caroline hummed in agreement. "That makes sense to me. But, I've met plenty of weird people to last me a life time. Beginning with my mother and ending with my ex. All weirdness."

Jessica smiled. "I have a weird mother too. Like what _is_ it with moms?" Caroline shrugged unknowingly, glancing around at the cafeteria. "But yeah. I mean not with the ex part, but there is this guy that's just so... odd."

"Do tell." Caroline smiled. And just as Jess was about to explain the infamous backstory of her and the post-its and,-

Nick, who was sitting with his group of hippies and somewhat-cool-kids, looked up at the noise of chatter. And there they both were. Jessica Day and... Caroline. Wait, Caroline? He aggressively slammed his knee up under the lunch table and grunted in pain. A couple of his friends looked at him in concern as he fit his fist in his mouth. What the hell was Caroline doing here?

Caroline turned her head until they met eyes, her blonde locks swooping over her shoulder. Her eyes widened at the boy a few feet away from her. Jessica, oblivious to this interaction, abruptly stopped her tour and explanation. "Caroline?"

The blonde blinked. "Uh... Yeah?"

"Oh." Jessica smiled. "That's just another table with some hippies and cool people-I guess that's what you'd call them-, I guess. And there's Nick Miller." She squinted at his odd behavior. "Only, he doesn't typically look like that. He looks like he lost all his cool. Though, he never really had it to start with so-"

"Caroline!" Nick announced as he shot up from the table, stretching an uncomfortable smile across his face. Caroline cleared her throat as she uncomfortably smiled back. He pulled her into a brief hug and pulled away. Jessica arched her brow up in confusion to her friend's behavior.

"You know each other?"

Nick shrugged his shoulder and nodded silently. Caroline tucked a strand of hair behind her ears.

"Yeah, uh, you could say that." She crossed her arms, tugging her long sleeves over her hands. "Ex."

"Ex." Nick agreed aloud. It was Jessica's turn to blink. Though she wasn't great at it. Caroline saw the expression on her face change and parted her lips as the dots began to connect.

"Oh." Caroline said.

"Oh." Jessica replied. _"Oh."_ She realized as her mind wheels of realization turned. And right on time, Cece approached the awkward group of friends (were they all friends?).

Cece smiled and stared at all of them. "Ready to get some lunch?"

"Uh... Yeah!" They all shouted in unison. She made a face at their dumbfounded expressions and nodded slowly.

"Weird. But okay."

She sat down at the lunch table as the rest joined, plopping their lunch trays down as the teens took their seats. It was an unusual quiet at the table, for once. Them all sitting together was not helping the situation either. Nick normally sat with his stoner buddies, and Jess was a lone wolf, basically up until this point. And Caroline... was just never here until now.

"So, you said your name was Caroline! Where do you know Nick and Jess from?" Cece spoke up as they all sat and stared around the room. Caroline met her eyes in relief and nodded her head.

"Yes! And uh, well, Jess has been my tour guide for today. And Nick is... well, my ex!" Caroline gestured to the hippy. Nick gave her a thumbs up and covered his head with his hand. Jess swallowed her food uncomfortably.

Cece set down her fork and nodded responsively. "Ah, that's interesting for sure." Nick cleared his throat as he practically buried his head into his lunch. Caroline took notice and raised her brows at him.

"So Nick." She began. Jess couldn't stop hearing the awkwardness of the conversation. "How's the book?"

Nick blinked. Jess turned to face Caroline. Cece silently took another fork-full of food. "It's fine." He eventually replied.

"Oh, so you know about the book! That's cool."

Caroline nodded a-matter-of-factly. "Yeah! While we were dating, he was gathering ideas for it. I was gonna be based off of that night time character I think?"

A light bulb popped over Jessica's head as she turned to Nick. "Uh, _you_ -"

"There were many, many first drafts! Nothing is set in stone yet, Caroline."

"So I'm not her?" Caroline asked.

"So who is it?" Jessica pressed.

Nick looked at the two girls and opened his mouth to reply. Before anything further, Nick disappeared from the table.

"Maybe he isn't typecasting...?" Cece added to soften the thickened air. Caroline and Jess shared a look before glancing down at their untouched food.

* * *

 _so_

 _so Carolyn huh_

 _She's really nice_

 **It's Caroline**

 _oh_

 _Caroline Night_

 **No**

 _you gotta pick a name at one point_

 **okay but jess**

 **it has to be like earned**

 _she rly broke your heart huh_

 _damn_

 **no it was mutual**

...

 **okay fine no she broke up with me but it DOESNT MATTER**

 **what matters is is that I have name and you cant know it**

 _I thought I was your beta reader tho :(_

 _I see where your loyalty lies_

 **literally who agreed that you were**

 **who**

 _you let me read it! remember?_

 **okay but only when I allow you to**

 **also pay attention**

 **you're wasting your post-its**

 _since when have you been considered about education_

 _and my post-its_

 _youll just get me a stack that you stocked up at the warehouse!_

 **again we did not agree to that**

 _okay but_

 _but can I borrow a stack of post its_

 **no**

 _yes_

 **NO**

 _yes_

 **Jessica Day**

 _im gonna purposely waste ALL OF MY PAPER_

 **YOU ARE KILLING TREES**

 _yeah_

 _that I am_

Nick groaned as he read her last note and crumpled it beneath his desk with all of the others. Cece, who decided to sit in for the class, watched this whole fiasco.

"Enough with the love notes."

" _They're not love notes!"_

The teacher paused teaching as everyone began to stare at a now red Nick and Jess. Jessica cleared her throat and sunk in her seat, wanting to not exist at that very moment. Cece smirked and pulled out a post it. Nick eyed her questionably as she grabbed a pen.

"No." Nick whispered. Cece began writing on it and eventually passed it over to Jess.

Nick + Jess sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.

Jessica rolled her eyes and, out of habit, through it behind her. Nick picked it up before the realization swarmed over her and Jessica turned around in panic. She attempted to reach over, but Nick's damn typewriter was in the way. "Nick, no!"

He unwrinkled the note and his eyes shifted across the paper. Nick smirked and folded it over, handing the note back to a still-red Jess. Without words, she took it and spun back around in her seat. Dammitdammitdammitdammit.

Well, it wasn't like she wrote it. Cece smiled at the two before returning to focus on the teacher.

 **first comes love**

 _what_

 **then comes marriage**

 _nick_

 **then comes? in the baby carriage**

 _enough_

 _and is question marks your brand now or something_

 _WHY CANT YOU COME UP WITH NAMES_

 **... I thought I'd let you have a say in this.**

 **but wow**

 **maybe not**

 _damn miller now you make me feel like shit_

 **our baby is gonna just be nameless then**

 _WHAT BABY_

 _WHY IS THIS STILL A THING_

 **Cece started it**

 _thus why I am ENDING IT_

 _we are not having a baby_

 **we're married, though?**

 _no we are not married_

 **lover's quarrel then**

 _goodbye miller conversation is over my pen is gonna run out of ink_

 **I can stock up some ink for you**

and back the note went. Nick chuckled as he crumpled the last post-it note. This was way too entertaining.

The laughter inside of Jess died down as thoughts of Caroline flooded into her mind again. The smile that rested on her lips faded as she bowed her head to the journal in front of her. So, why did things feel different now she was here?

She rolled her eyes to herself. Okay, so she knew exactly why things felt different. The bell rang soon enough and class was dismissed. Much to Jessica's dismay, Caroline joined Jess's stroll down the school hallway.

"Hey, Jessica, can we talk for a sec?"

Jessica shyly tucked strands of hair behind her ear. Well, they already were. "Yeah of course!"

Caroline hugged her books to her chest before the two leaned against some unoccupied lockers. "So... lunch was pretty weird, right?"

"Guess you could say that." Jess replied hesitantly, playing with the edge of her skirt. _If you mean the 42 minutes of awkward conversation and uncomfortable chewing that I will never get back, then yes, most definitely weird._ "Yeah, it definitely wasn't average."

She smiled friendly before reaching into her back pocket. Jess arched a brow up curiously. "I wasn't gonna mention this before, but it definitely makes sense to address it now." She brought the object in front of her. Jessica lowered her eyes to it and began to blush feverishly. Go figure. A post-it. They were bound to lose one at some point, right?

 **to late night drives and to _driving_ you insane. goodnight, Day. **

Brief flashbacks of the night began to pop in her head.

 _"Can you do me a favor?" Nick whispered._

 _You know you owe me." Jessica remarked, yawning as she blinked herself awake. Nick held her iced coffee up, Jess taking a sip out of the straw before he set it down._

 _"Still, though. I just want you to know that I appreciated it. And, well, you." Nick's eyes poured into hers. She could feel her heart pounding in her ears._

"Jessica?"

Jess blinked out of her trance, breath hitching inside her chest before reverting her eyes back to Caroline's. "Sorry, hi, blacked out for a second. You have my full attention."

Caroline held the post-it out for Jess to take. "It fell out of your backpack pocket." Her eyes perked up with interest. "Secret admirer?"

 _Careful how you answer this, Jessica._ "Not a secret admirer... well like, an admirer, that's not a... secret." Caroline watched Jess battle in her thoughts and nodded understandably.

"Nick is writing you love notes, eh?"

"Who said it was Nick."

"You did. It's tattooed on your forehead." Caroline shrugged knowingly. Jess felt her ears burn immensely. "Seriously, it's cool. You guys must be... really something." She trailed off, her smile lessening in the slightest. "Don't think I've ever seen him like this, actually. This year just got a whole lot more interesting."

Jess frowned in confusion. "Wait, woah, woah, backtrack. Really something how, ever seen him like what, and why is it interesting?"

Caroline hesitated to answer, looking at the ground to search her thoughts. She glanced back up and pulled her bottom lip in before smiling and replying, "Read and find out."

* * *

 **dundundundundundun IM BACK IM BACK IM BACK hello :) this one aint as long but its certainly something. :D**

 **I love you guys who are still reading. xxoxoxoxo**

 **review/favorite, my lovelies.**


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